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THE DESCENDANTS OF HUGH AMORY 




(I ri//,^/t'/i i /i/in/i. (' h/ziirJi/.i/ii/ 



THE 

.NTS 



T ~tt- 



AMORY 



1605 — 180 , 



GERTRUDE EUPHEMIA MERPDITH 



tin 






THE 

DESCENDANTS 



OF 



HUGH AMORY 

1605 — 1805 



BY 

GERTRUDE EUPHEMIA MEREDITH 



)• I a' 



LONDON 

PRIVATELY PRINTED 

AT THE CHISWICK PRESS 
1901 



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(Period). 
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PREFACE. 




HESE pages are printed for the family in fulfil- 
ment of what is known to have been a wish of 
the late Thomas Coffin Amory, who died at 
Boston, Massachusetts, in 1889. It had been for 
years a favourite recreation with Mr. Amory to glean informa- 
tion about his forefathers, and he was unwilling that their 
descendants generally should forget them. One of his nephews 
therefore proposed, and with others of the family has effisdted, 
the printing of his collections. They here stand condensed, 
with some later discoveries, as introduction and addenda to 
two series of eighteenth century letters. Of these the first 
series is from the Letter-Books of Thomas Amory, merchant, 
who after an apprenticeship in London and thirteen years in 
the Azores, settled in 1720 at Boston; the second, from the 
Letter-Books of his younger sons, Jonathan and John Amory, 
merchants also at Boston from forty to seventy years later. 
Both sets of books have remained in the possession of John's 
descendants, and these extracts from them are allowed by 
favour of the present owners, Mrs. Oswald H. Ernst and the 



vi Preface. 

Miss Ernsts. The story is here brought down only to the 
generation following the American Revolution ; Mr. Amory's 
papers had little of later date except in the line of his father, 
Jonathan Amory tertius. Mr. Dexter's excellent Pedigree 
will serve as outline for a farther history whenever some 
member of the family at Boston, with public and private 
records at hand, shall wish to write it. 

In the present volume the Editor's thanks are due first 
to Mr. Frederic Amory, who originated the undertaking, and 
has waited over six years for its completion ; again to him 
and to others of the family who charge themselves with the 
expense ; to Mrs. Ernst and the Miss Ernsts for opportunity 
to read, and to make seledlions from, not only the Letter- 
Books, but account-books, single letters and other papers ; to 
Mr. George Ticknor Dexter for the Pedigree already men- 
tioned, which is folded within the last cover of the volume ; 
to Mr. William Amory, by whose kind permission we have 
the portraits of Elizabeth Coffin and her son, the first Thomas 
Coffin Amory, facing pages 250 and 258 ; to Mr. Arthur 
Amory, by whose similar kind permission the two other 
portraits face page 69 and page 113; and to Miss Louisa 
Sohier, who kindly allowed the one at page 69 to be repro- 
duced from a photograph which she had taken. All the four 
portraits are reproduced in photogravure from photographs of 
the pi6tures. 

For kindness in allowing, and courtesy in facilitating, the 
search of records in their custody, acknowledgment must be 
made to the Master and the Treasurer of the Merchant 
Venturers' Society, Bristol; to the City Treasurer, Bristol; 
to Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of the College of Heralds ; to 



Preface. vii 

the Redtor of Wrington, the Vicar of Brislington, and the 
Vicars of St, Nicholas, Bristol, and St. Clement's, Oxford. 
The Treasurer of the Merchant Venturers was so good as to 
revise the notes from his Company's record in Chapter II., 
and to suggest one or two amendments, which have been 
gratefully made. Pages 50, 126, 170, 180, 191, 214, and 234 
report some of the comments of an Oxford Ledlurer in 
Modern History and Economics, who kindly allowed the 
selections from the Letter-Books to be read to him, and said 
that he considered them a real addition to the history of the 
American Revolution. The reports cannot claim such ac- 
curacy as to deserve quotation marks, but they are easily dis- 
tinguished from the rest of the page. A second Oxford 
historian, at the request of the first, generously granted an 
interview for seventeenth-century questions. 

The List of Authorities beginning at page 3 1 9 is intended to 
show the ground for every fa6l of family history stated in the 
book, and also to point out where the documents forming 
such ground are preserved. Every document or authority 
referred to has come under the Editor's own examination : 
when the document seen has been not an original but a copy, 
that fadt is noted in the list. The initial "E." means that the 
document or copy referred to is in Miss Ernst's possession at 
Washington or West Point ; the initials " T. C. A." mean 
that it belongs to Mr. Amory's colledlion which he left to the 
care of three of his nephews at Boston, Mr. Charles Bean 
Amory, Mr. Arthur Amory, and Mr. J. Morris Meredith. 

It would be useless to discuss every error great or 
small in regard to Hugh Amory's descendants which may 
have crept into books where any of them chance to be men- 



viii Preface. 

tioned, but on no point does the silence of this present work 

imply assent. The Editor, believing that what is between 

these covers is true, answers for nothing else. Here too, no 

doubt, unhappily, errors will discover themselves when the 

time for revision is past. The Editor — who will most regret 

them — is alone responsible for any such, as also for all details 

of the book's produdlion. Until it arrives in Boston, printed 

and bound, no other member of the family will have seen any 

part of it, except the List of Portraits (page 347) made by 

Mr. Amory over thirty years ago. This has been sent to as 

many as possible of the present owners for revision and 

enlargement, but remains incomplete. In it the four pidures 

reproduced in the book a^e indicated by asterisks. 

For Chapters XVI. and XVII. few references are given. 

What is there said is (unless otherwise noted) drawn from 

Mr. Turner's and Mr. Somerby's reports to Mr. Amory, from 

Dugdale's " Baronage," Kennett's " Parochial Antiquities," or 

Dunkin's " Oxfordshire." Those whom the subjeft of the 

Oxfordshire D'Amorys, as a by-way of history, attradls, will 

look forward to a chance of learning more of it from the new 

set of County Histories said to be preparing under Royal 

patronage. 

G. E. M. 
Folkestone, 

yanuary 18th, igoi. 




TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Preface 

Table of Contents . 
Illustrations . 
Prefatory Pedigrf.h 



CHAP. 

I. VVrington, 1605-1719 

II. Bristol, 1624-1660 

III. Ireland, 1660-1695 

IV. Carolina, 1690-1707 
V. BuNRATTY, 1677-1728 

VI. The Azores, 1706-1718 

VII. South Carolina, 171 8-1723 

VIII. Boston, i 720-1 743 

IX. Boston, i 743-1 765 

X. Letter-Books, i 765-1 768 . 

XI. Letter-Books, i 768-1773 . 

XII. Letter-Books, 1773-1776 . 

XIII. Letter-Books, i 776-1 781 

XIV. Letter-Books, 1781-1786 . 
XV. Family Letters, i 785-1805 

XVI. Of Heraldry 

XVII. Of Other Amorv Familie 



PAGE 
V 

ix 

X 

xi 



10 

23 

30 
42 

47 
64 

«7 
109 
124 

147 

175 
208 

227 
248 
263 
284 



X Table of Contents. 

PAGE 

A List of Authorities . . . . . . . . -319 

Notes 334 

A List of Portraits ......... 347 

Index 350 

A Pedigree, The Amory Family of Boston, 1720-1897. By 

George Ticknor Dexter at end 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



\Vrington Church . . » . 
^Thomas Amory, 1682-1728 

Thomas Amory, 1722-1784 
■• Mrs. Thomas Amory (Elizabeth Coffin 
■ Thomas Coffin Amory, i 767-1 81 2 . 

Seal on Jonathan Amory's Will, 1699. 



), 1741-1822 



Frontispiece 

to face page 69 

,> „ 113 

» „ 250 

„ „ 258 

■ 273 




A PREFATORY PEDIGREE. 

Note. — There were descendants of the Plenty, Chappell, Hoskins, and Coynes marriages, 1)ut as few names 
and no dates are known for them, they are here omitted. 



HughAmory, 

— 1626, m. 
Agnes Young, 
widow, — 
1640, daugh- 
ter of Nicho- 
las and Joane 
Young. 



'Hugh Amory, — 



o h n A ni o r )•, 
1606- 7-1 68 1-2. 
m. 1626-7 Mary- 
Willett, —1674-5 



Thomas Amory, 

1608-1667. ni.. 
I 6 3 I Anne 
EUiott, 1 613 — . 



'.Mary Amory, 162 7-1 681-2. 
m. 165 1 Jonathan \VaIl. 



John Amory, 1629-1719. m. 

Elizabeth Talbot — 1682. - 
Elizabeth Amory, 1 633-1650. 
Annis Amory, 1635. m. 1659 

John Plenty. 
Mathew Amory, 1639-1681-2. 
.Sara Amory, 1642 — . 



Thomas Amory, — 1667. m. 
Elizabeth Fitzmaurice. — 

1713- 
Hugh Amory, 1 639-1 661. 

unm. 
Elizabeth Amory, — 1651. 

unm. 
John Amory, 1644-1730. 

unm. 
Ann Amory, 1645-6 — . m. 

— Chappell. 
Robert Amory, 1647-8-1710. 

unm. 
Mary Amory, 1649 — . m. 

William Hoskins. 
Henry Amory, 1652 — . unm. 
Elizabeth Amory. m. Thomas 

Coynes or Connies. 
Jonathan Amory, 1653-4- 

1699. m. I, 1677, Rebecca. 

, widow of David Hous- 
ton. 



John Wall, 1653—. 

"John ."Vmory, 1654 — . 

Robert Amory, 1655- 
1656. 

Hugh Amory, 1657 — . 

Mary Amory, 1659 — . 
m. 1689 Samuel An- 
drews. 

Robert Amory, i66t — . 

William Amory, 1664 



"Thomas Amory, — 
1728. m. I, 1703, 
Katharine, widow of 
Simon Luttrell. m. 
2, 1 71 7, Elizabeth 
Durroy. 

Elizabeth Amory, . 

m. I, — Hart, 
m. 2, — Croker. 

Lucy Amory, . d. 



m. 2, Martha 



-, —1699.- 



'Judith Amory, 1680 — . 

m. Joseph Croskeys. 

s. p. 
Thomas Amory, 

1682-1728. m. 1721 

Rebecca Holmes, 

1701-1770. 
'Sarah Amory. — 1722. 

m. 1706 Arthur Mid- 

dleton. 
Robert Amory, — 1699. 
Ann Amory, — 1699. 



The small numbers in tiic text refer to a list which will be found at pacje3i9, 
showing on what authority each statement in the narrative is made, and where 
these authorities are to be found. The Roman numbers I — LIII indicate 
letters from the first set of Letter-Books ; LIV — CLXXXV letters from the 
second set. 




THE 



DESCENDANTS OF HUGH AMORY. 




CHAPTER I. 

WRINGTON, 1605-1719. 

|UGH AMORY, whose birthplace and parentage 
we do not know, was living^ in the year 1605 
at Wrington in Somersetshire, under the northern 
side oi the Mendip Hills. In the enterprise of 
cloth manufafture, which had within fifty years transformed 
England's industry and commerce, Somerset and Devon were 
the leading counties. Wrington, as a market town in the 
midst of the wool distrift, eleven miles from Bristol the great 
port of the west, must have been a centre for colle6ting the 
wool, and probably for weaving it. It is not unlikely that 
Hugh, one of whose sons was a mercer and the other ap- 
prenticed to a woollen-draper, had himself something to do 
with cloth. Mr. Somerby^"^ made a note, which I am unable 
to verify, of a record in the Rolls Office, that Hugh was as- 
sessed^ to the Benevolence of 1622 on land, but also on "goods," 
which always meant merchandise, stock in trade. He is taxed 

R 



2 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

on land in two rolls for the subsidy of 1621,^ and he is else- 
where called " yeoman," * which implies a freehold. In the 
first of the two rolls the annual value of his land is five pounds, 
in the second it is four. The tax is twenty per cent. There 
are seventy-two taxable inhabitants of Wrington, with its 
hamlet Burrington {pron. Berrington) ; seventy-one of these 
pay on land, Mr. Capel, the lord of the manor, and one other 
person on eight pounds annual value, two others on five pounds, 
Hugh and six others on four pounds, sixty persons on less. 
Mr. Somerby's note gives no figures, only " Hugh Amory on 
goods and on land at Burrington." This may be joined with 
his other note, also unverified, that he discovered " a Robert 
Amory at Burrington ^' in the beginning of the seventeenth 
century." Burrington had registers of its own, but they are 
lost ; those at Wrington contain our earliest records. Among 
the burials : 

"1605. Julie 22. Hughe, the Sonne of Hughe Amrye." 

Among the baptisms : 

" 1606-7. Feb. 27. John, the sonne of Hugh Amorye. 
1608. June 5. Thomas y^ Sonne of Hugh Amery." 

Among the burials : 

" 1626. July 29. Hughe Amory." 

He was probably buried, as some of his descendants after- 
wards were, within the parish church. It has no monuments 
of so early a date, and if the churchyard has, the inscriptions 
are no longer legible. To avoid exaggeration in regard to 
this church one may borrow Freeman's words (" History of 
Architedure," 1849, page 386). Speaking of the west as the 



IVringtOfi^ 1605-1719. 3 

land of enriched Perpendicular towers and of" their cuhnina- 
tion in the unrivalled glories of Somerset," he notes two classes 
of the larger and more splendid examples. Taunton best 
represents the one, but " still more grand and lovely are the 
other class, in which the whole tower rises from the ground 
in one harmonious design, the very triumph of Gothic archi- 
tedure. Such are the three stately and magnificent steeples 
of St. John's, Glastonbury, St. Cuthbert's, Wells, and St. 
Mary's, Wrington, among which it would be difficult to assign 
a scale of precedency. . . . Wrington is unsurpassed for 
graceful beauty. No village tower which I know can be 
compared to it for a moment, and the nave and aisles are, so 
tar as I have seen, only rivalled by Banwell." 

In 1628 Agnes" (pronounced Agnis, sometimes apparently 
Annis, as her granddaughter's name is written) Amory pays at 
Wrington to a subsidy on one pound value of land, John 
Amory on two pounds. In the Chancery Proceedings, June 
i8th, 1632, is a "Petition of Agnes Amery'' of Wrington, 
County of Somerset, daughter of Nicholas Younge, whose 
mother's name was Joane who lived in Loxton, county of 
Somerset, concerning two cottages and parcels of land, demised 
to the said Agnes by Christopher Paine, Esq., for her life, and 
afterwards sold by him with the manor to William Dale, gent." 
"Nichus Yonge, terr xxx»— vj'" appears in a Loxton subsidy 
roll* for 1597, and "Agnes Yong Vid.," in one for 1550." 
Agnes Amory's will ^ is in the District Registry at Wells : 

" Wrington. 

T. Anna Amorie Vid. 
Ann Amorie, Widow. 



4 The Desce?tdants of Hugh Amory, 

" In the Name of God. Amen. The 19th day of March 
1638 : I Agnes Amory of Wrington in the County of Somer- 
sett, Widdow, and in the Diases of Bathe and Wells doe 
ordaine and make this my last will and Testament in manner 
and form folowing (renouncing all other former Wills) being 
sicke of body but of good and perfeft memory, thanks be unto 
Almighty God : 

" ffirst I give and bequeath my soule unto Almighty God 
my Maker and to Jesus Christ my alone Saviour and redeemer 
by whose mercy I alone hope to be saved ; and my body to be 
buried in the Church or Churchyard of Wrington aforesaid : 
Item I give unto Mr. Samuel Crooke re6tor and Minister of 
Wrington twenty shillings. 

" Item I give unto my Sonne John Amory — v" to be paid 
unto him one yeares end after my decease. 

" Item : I give to my daughter in Law Mary Amory my 
Sonne John his wife — xx^ : Item I give to my sonne Thomas 
Amory xx*. 

" And where as my sonne John Amory delivered to my 
Sonne Thomas certaine parsells of goods by my appointment 
to be adventured to Sea for my Account which was valued at 
ix'' I doe likewise give all the said goods and the profitts 
thereof to my said sonne Thomas Amory. Item I give to my 
daughter in Law Ann Amory, my sonne Thomas his wife xx^ 

" Item I give unto my grandchild my sonne Thomas his 
Sonne xx'' to be paid unto his ffather at one yeares end after 
my decease if my sonne Thomas shall state him in some living 
in the meane space, or else to give good security to myne 
Executor for discharging of him thereof of the said xx". Item 
I give unto my sonne John Amoryes foure children John 



lVringt07i^ 1605-1 7 1 9. 5 

Amory, Mary Amory, Elizabeth Amory and Agnis Amory, 
five pounds a pece to every one of them : to be paid unto 
their fFather at the end of one yeare after my decease and he 
to give good security to myne Executor for his discharge 
thereof. 

" Item : I give to my sonne Henry Backwell all the goods 
of what nature and kinde soever they are of which was myne 
alsoe before I married my last husband Hugh Amory ; and 
which was my two former husbands' : Item I give to my 
Grandchilde John Backwell the use of the ground which I 
have at Locking, being called Heale's Cloose together with 
some other peeces of ground lying thereto : for soe many yeares 
as my said Grandchilde John Backwell shall live during that 
lease ; and if my said Grandchilde John Backwell shall happen 
to decease this life before the expiration of that lease then I 
will and my will is that my Grandchilde Henry Backwell 
shall enioy the said grounds for so many yeares as he shall 
live after my Grandchild John if that lease so long continue : 
and if my said Grandchildren John and Henry shall happen 
to dye before the expiration and end of that Lease and my 
Grandchild Dorothy Backwell shall be then living I give all 
the residue and remainder of the said Leases and grounds to 
my said Grandchild Dorothy Backwell. Item : I give to my 
Grandchild Henry Backwell xx'' Item I give to my Grand- 
child Hanna Backwell x'' Item I give to my Grandchild 
Dorothy Backwell x'' being sons and daughters of my said son 
Henry Backwell. Item I give unto the poore of Wrington 
2'' to be distributed among them by myne Executor : Item I 
give to my Brother Robert Young v" : Item I give to my 
Cozen Dorothy Plumley's sonne Richard xx^ : Item I give 



6 The Descenda?Jts of Hugh Amory, 

among the rest of her children xx^ more : Item I give to my 
Cozen Dorothy Plumley herselfe xx^ Item I give to my 
daughter in Law^ Joane Backw^ell my w^edding ring : Item I 
give to William Baker the weaver x^ Item I give to Ehedeth 
Baker his wife x^ and an old Petecoate. Item all the rest of 
my goods and Chattells moveable or unmoveable not given or 
bequeathed I give to my sonne Henry Backwell whome I 
make my whole and Sole Executor of this my last will and 
Testament witnes my hand and seale the day and yeare afore- 
said, and I doe entreate my Brother in Law John Luffe of 
Langford to be my overseer of this my last will and Testament 
and to se all right done as much as in him lieth 

The marke and seale 

+ 
of Agnis Amory. 

Witnesse hereunto John Luffe 
Georg Baker. 

Probatum fuit hmod testamtn . . . apud Wells pro Coiia 
nifio 

Henry Backwell 26'*- Sept. 1640. 

Et extum fuit Inventaria valoriis €CG . . . S. 

In the burial register is the entry, " 1640, August 27, 
Agnes Amory, widow ; " and in the Churchwardens' Accounts, 
"The xf^ day of May Ano dmi 1642 Henry Backwell, 
Executor to his Mother Agnes Amory did distribute amongst 
the poore of Wrington the sume of xP given by the said Agnes 
according to her will." 




Wrington^ 1605-1719. 7 

John Luffe was Agnes's " brother-in-law " only as being 
the father of Joan, her son Henry's wife. Descendants of 
Henry Backwell go on in the register until after 1800. He 
and his half-brother John Amory are constantly found in the 
parish books as churchwardens, vestrymen, etc. Sir Arthur 
Cape! had in 1602 brought in a strong Puritan influence by 
presenting to the living the Rev. Samuel Crooke,^'^ a learned 
young Cambridge graduate, one of the original Fellows of 
Emmanuel College. Mr. Crooke remained at Wrington 
until his death in 1649, " much admired and esteemed by his 
people," excelling in extempore prayer, and preaching ardently. 
One of the minor novelties introduced in his time was the build- 
ing of pews ^^ in the church. They were put in not all at once, 
but as a matter of individual enterprise, regulated by special en- 
adtments of the Vestry as one parishioner after another built for 
himself. " It is agreed by the minister. Churchwardens and 
the rest of the pishioners att the giving upp of their accompt 
the . . . May 1634 that John Benett and Henry Backwell 
shall hould the seates newly erefted by them in the Church 
under the south window at theire owne cost and charges pay- 
ing yeerely iiij** a pec during theire lives. It is alsoe agreed 
that John Amory, William ffoord, William Macy and John 
Halestone for the fine of vj^ & viij** a pec in hand paid to the 
Churchwardens above saide shall have theire seates joyning to 
the north He and alsoe to pay iij'' a pec yeerely during theire 
lives, that John Amory 6c Edmund ffoord for the yeerely 
rent of ij"* a pec to have the seates sett upp by them at ther 
owne charges in y^ midle Aley nere the north dore." Henry 
Backwell signs this as churchwarden, John Amory as one of 
the vestry. 



8 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

In the civil wars there is no record of either brother as a 
soldier, although Henry is on the roll of the trained bands ^' a 
few years before. His colonel. Sir Ralph Hopton, was in- 
dustrious in levying troops for the King, but Mr, Crooke was 
no less active in recruiting for the Parliament. In 1644 John 
Amory was accused ^^ by a Wrington royalist as a rebel, being 
among those who would not sign the " pretended petition for 
peace." In 1648 the Parliamentary Commission reported 
him as a " fitting Elder " ^^ for the Presbyteral " Classis of Bath 
and Wrington." " Hospitall money " is frequently paid to 
him in the churchwarden's books, as " Constable," an un- 
salaried office which no man could refuse when his neighbours 
eledied him to it. After the Restoration two Somerset men 
suspefted ^^ of disafFedlion were examined in regard to letters 
written by them to Amory of Wrington. Hill pleaded that 
he was drunk at the time, Bovett professed that he " wrote to 
John Amory, a great cloth-dealer, only to get trade with 
him." John Amory, being questioned, admitted that he knew 
Hill, but held no correspondence with him nor with any other 
at Taunton. The authorities were not satisfied, and ordered 
the volunteers to be in readiness, but nothing followed, and 
John Amory continued until his death in 1680-1^*^ to live at 
Wrington, paying as he had done since 1634 his annual six- 
pence or fourpence for seats in church and a shilling or two to 
the common rate, half of it on a property called " Brean's." ^'' 
The redior's tithe-book ^^ between 1676 and 1680 shows that 
Brean's comprised a house, orchard, garden, and hayfield. 
John Amory 's son John paid tithe and pew-rent and was 
churchwarden like his father, and both are mentioned now and 
then in the parish accounts : " Paid John Amory for trav[ell]- 



Writigtofi^ 1 605-1719. 9 

ing in the parish business ; paid unto John Amory the elder 
[in 1657] for to psecute in the behalfe of the parrish against 
Burrington, and for Counsell at London i'' — x — o ; paid John 
Amory jun. for a fFox head j'^ ; paid John Amory jun. for his 
horse and himself Ridinge to Wells to make returne to Major 
Jenkens of an order from Major General Desbrow in which 
the parrish was wrongfully accused for setting up a tennis Co" 
in the Churchyard ij* vj*^." The younger John (whose only 
brother, Matthew, a scrivener,^'-' seems to have died unmarried 
in 1 681)-" lived at Wrington all his life and died there in 
1719^^ at the age of ninety. He married Elizabeth Talbot''^'" 
of Ilminster, and left, beside a daughter, Mary, who married in 
the parish, four sons,^^ John, Hugh, Robert, and William, who 
at the time of his death were between the ages of twenty-eight 
and eighteen. The register has no entry of marriage or death 
for any of the four. After 171 9 the family is not named in 
the parish books, and here we lose sight of the line of Hugh's 
eldest son. 




^^"W^ 




WS^^'^ 


^m 




^M 


^^2 




^^s 




CHAPTER II. 

BRISTOL, 1624-1660. 

UR own descent is from the younger son, whose 
career was the troubled one of a Bristol merchant 
in the middle third of the seventeenth century. 
He is entered in the Prentice Book at the age of 



sixteen 



" 1624. Secundo die Septembr. Thomas Amory, fil 
Hugon Amory de Wrington in Com. Somset. yeoman, post se 
apprentir Robto Elliott de Civite Bristoll drap. et Anne ux. 
suis p. term seto ann. Sol. iiij^ vj'' p. lib'^ Bristoll. cu dupl. appar. 
etc. et 40/ ster. A bond of C' on his father for his truth." 

Robert Elliott, no doubt the same, was, in 1633, first Sheriff 
of Bristol.-^ In four other years he was Churchwarden^" of 
St. Nicholas ; he had twelve children, and died five months 
before his wife, in 1643.^'' Their eldest daughter, Ann, was 
married to Thomas Amory six months after he had served his 
time. In the Burgess-Book : -^ " I5''^ Daye of March A. 1630 
[1630-1] Thomas Amory wollendraper ys admitted into the 
liberties of this Citty for that he was the apprentice of Robart 
Elliott, and that he paid iiii^ vj*"." 



Bristol J 1 6 24- 1 660. II 

[Beside the Robert Elliott from whom we descend, and 
the Robert Elliott who was sheriff in 1633, the Bristol Prentice 
Book, shows a Robert Elliatt, son of Henry Elliatt, late of 
Bristol, defundl, who is apprenticed to Thomas Whyte, draper, 
on the 26th of January, 1 600-1, for a term of twenty years. 
In the Burgess-Book on the 17th of September, 1624, fifteen 
days after Thomas Amory was bound, a Robert Elliott is 
admitted a freeman, " for that he married with Ann the 
daughter of Roger Longe, draper." To have an apprentice 
before taking up one's own freedom was against the rules but 
not impossible, for another entry in the Prentice Book has a 
note to the master's name, " This man is not free." If it was 
our Robert Elliott who married Ann Longe, he took up his 
freedom at least twelve years after his marriage ; but this 
might be explained by identifying him also with the son of 
Henry Elliatt, who being apprenticed for the strangely long 
term of twenty years, would have served his time only in 
1 62 1. Whether during so long a term an apprentice would 
be allowed to marry, I do not know. Our Robert Elliott's 
wife was Ann, and one of his sons was Henry.] 

In St. Nicholas' register :^^ " Weddings Afio Domini 1631 
. . . Thomas Amory and Ann Elliott were maried the 7''' of 
Noveber." " Richard Towgood, Vicar," signs the page. 

When Thomas and Ann take their first apprentice, a young 
brother of Ann's, the Prentice Book says, "Thomas Amory, 
Draper," but by the next time he is " Merchant." He was 
admitted to the " Comonaltie of the Arte or Misterie of the 
Marchantes Adventurers^'^ of the citty of Bristol" in 1638, 
when the King was trying to have a revenue without having 
a parliament, and royal commissioners " examined merchants 



12 The Descenda?its of Hugh Amory. 

on oath as to what commodities they had shipped, what entries 
were made at the Custom Houses, what foreign goods im- 
ported, for years past." Thomas Amory engaged in foreign 
trade, and if he was like most merchants of the time, must 
have owned ships — armed, for fear of pirates — and direfted 
their voyages if he did not sail in them. 

When the Civil War began, in 1642, Bristol shut her 
gates equally against Sir John Popham for the Parliament and 
Lord Paulet for the King, and appeared to intend a vigorous 
resistance to the Parliament siege in December. Nevertheless, 
at the moment of the first attack the Magistrates decided to 
admit the besiegers, who, on entering, put the town under 
martial law. Beside being at once taxed for the support of 
the Parliament forces ^(^55 15^. a week (assessed on lands, 
goods, money at interest and stocks in trade), it gave to 
Colonel Fiennes ;C3°°5 ^"<^ ^^^ citizens were compelled to 
make loans to him of money and plate. In a list of loans 
ranging from ^20 to jCs^^j ^^^ amounting to nearly ^(^4,000, 
the sum against Thomas Amory's name^^ is ,^91 5^. od. 
Fiennes surrendered the city to Prince Rupert, July 6, 1643, 
and the King, coming to visit it, commanded the citizens to 
raise _^2o,ooo " for the relief of his pressing emergencies." 
In November, Thomas Amory is one of the names signed to 
the minutes of a Merchant Venturers' meeting ; at later 
meetings he is marked as present ; the next year he is elefted 
one of the ten Assistants.^^ He is a sidesman ^^ at St. Nicholas, 
and takes another apprentice. Towards the end of August, 
1645, the whole of the west was lost to the King, and the 
Parliament army, reinforced by 2,000 Somersetshire men, 
closed in round Bristol. On one of the days when Fairfax 



Bristol^ 1 624- 1 660. 13 

and Cromwell were reconnoitring the city, Thomas Amory 
was elefted to the Common Council.^* As a rule the City Cor- 
poration was the Merchant Venturers under another name, and 
nearly the same is true of the parish officers of St. Nicholas. 
Elections to the Common Council were for life. At its meet- 
ing on September 5th, " It is this day agreed that the cittie 
shall accept of the proffer of his highnes Prince Rupert touch- 
ing the taking of the free quarter both of horse and foote from 
the inhabitants." Five days later, September iith. Prince 
Rupert surrendered and marched out. In his vindication ^^ 
the Prince stated that " his effective garrison were hardly six 
hundred men and that the auxiliary and trained bands by reason 
of the interruption of trade, poverty, and the pestilence that 
raged in the city, were reduced to eight hundred, and the 
mariners betook themselves to other parts or to the enemy. 
. . . Having given orders for all the inhabitants to vidtual 
themselves for six months ; upon a strict survey of 2,500 
families then remaining in the city, 1,500 through indigence 
could not provide for themselves." 

For the year from November, 1645, Thomas Amory was 
one of the two Wardens ^"^ of the Merchants' Society, and in 
April was on a Committee of four to taste and purchase wines 
for them — " a parcell of Sacke, a parcell of Muskadelle, and a 
parcell of Malliga wines." The next year he was once more 
an Assistant, and he and about a dozen others were made 
feoffees of all the lands, messuages, tenements and heredita- 
ments of the Company ; while he and five others were chosen 
auditors of the accounts. In 1647 he signs the minutes of the 
meeting on November loth. In 1648 he is again on a com- 
mittee to buy wines. In April he is mentioned among the 



14 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

creditors of a Bristol merchant,^'^ a royalist who was being 
made to compound. 

From another royalist, Sir John Lacy, he had taken in 
1646 a lease ^'^ of a "Tenement, Mill and Lands" — about 
twenty acres — in the manor of Brislington, a mile or two 
from Bristol towards Bath. He built a house there, called 
St. Ann's, from an ancient Chapel which stood near it. In 
1649 he added " Parphey's holding," ^^ sixty-four acres in the 
same manor, and the next year took, another called Cottreirs.*" 
This last lease was not to be in force during the life of Cottrell's 
daughter and her husband ; after that it was to run ninety- 
nine years if the lessee's son Robert Amory should live so long. 
A chancery suit regarding this lease was carried on for twenty 
years by Robert's eldest nephew, and from the depositions 
made therein we learn that Thomas had ten children, viz. : 
Thomas, mentioned in 1639 in his grandmother's will ; Eliza- 
beth, who died young and is named in the St. Nicholas burial 
register, August 12th, 1651 ; and a younger Elizabeth whose 
marriage in Ireland by 1667^^ implies that she was born soon 
after her sister's death ; beside the two daughters and five sons *^ 
baptized at St. Nicholas as follows : 

" 1639. Heugh the sonne of Thomas Amory and An hit 
wife was baptized the 20^** daye of June. 

" 1644, March 30. John the sonn of Thomas Amry & 
Ann his wife . . . 

" 1 64I Jan. 23. Ann, the daughter of Mr Thomas Amorj 
& Ann his wife . . . 

" 164I Jan. 20. Robert, the sonn of Mr Thomas Amari 
by Ann his wife was baptized, his father being Churchwarden. 



Bristol^ 1 6 24.- 1 660. 15 

" 1649. Sept. 16. Mary the daughter of Mr. Thomas 
Amary by Ann his wiff was baptized. But borne the eight 
Day of the same month of September Anno Dmi. 1649. 

" 1652. July 4^*^ Henry the sonn of Mr Thomas Amary by 
Ann was borne & Baptized the 2j^'^ of the sam month. 

" 1654 Apriell ii Jonathan the sonn of Mr Thomas Amorie 
by Ann his wife was baptized the same day but boren y'' 14''^ 
of March." 

This last is our ancestor. 

The third son, John, deposed " in 1704 that his brother 
" Robert Amory was borne on the Back of Bristole in the 
parrish of St Nicholas," and Robert himself "knows not in 
what year he this examinant was borne but was often told that 
he was borne about a year after the burning of the bridge of 
Bristole," "a lamentable fire," the Mayor's Calendar notes, on 
the 17th of February, 1645-6, "which burnt all the houses 
on the north part of the bridge from the chappell, on both 
sides to St Nicholas' Gate." The Back or quay (now called 
Welsh Back) facing this bridge, was favoured by merchants, 
who, living there, could have their ships come up the Floating 
Harbour opposite their door, although by a regulation of the 
year 1654, "no ship of above one hundred tons was allowed 
to come up to the Quay or Back under the penalty of ten 
pounds." Some of the finest seventeenth century houses in 
the town were built here, but have almost entirely vanished. 

The Common Council after Fairfax's entry offered " a 
gratuity to the Generall, to be raised on the inhabitants," of 
five or six thousand pounds. For the year 1652-3 Thomas 
Amory was first sheriff,^" one of the duties of the sheriffs being 



i6 The Desce?i(iants of Hugh Amory. 

to hold their court daily at the Tolzey " to hear complaints 
between parties." At the Tolzey also took place an important 
part of mercantile transad:ions, the counting out of large sums 
of money in coin. There were four small fixed bronze tables 
for this, called the " Tolzey nails," whence the expression 
" paid down on the nail." They stand now for ornament out- 
side the Exchange and are in shape less like nails than like 
thick old sherry-glasses upside down. Three of them have 
dates from 1625 to 1632.; the fourth is older. Thomas 
Amory is in the St. Nicholas accounts as sidesman in 1644; 
in 1646 junior, in 1647 senior, churchwarden ; in 1648 over- 
seer. In 1643, while Fiennes was holding Bristol, Mr. Tow- 
good *'' joined in a plot to admit Prince Rupert, and, failing, 
spent several months in prison, was released when Fiennes 
surrendered, but after Fairfax's entry was formally sequestered 
and imprisoned again. A Presbyterian, appointed Vicar of 
St. Nicholas^' by Parliament, and unable to bring himself to 
acquiesce in the Parliament's submission to a new tyrant (the 
un-Presbyterian army) was removed and forbidden to reappear 
in Bristol. His successor,*^ another Presbyterian, being an old 
friend of Cromwell's secretary Thurloe, held the position — 
though he wrote vigorously of the Army and the Quakers — 
until the Restoration quietly extinguished him, and at the 
request of the parish Mr. Towgood came back. One change 
after another is reflefted indifferently in the records. The 
ringers are paid " when the Erie of Essex was overthrown in 
the west ; " they are paid again " for ringing at the Generall 
[FairfaxJ's cominge in." Mr. Towgood receives the regular 
_^3 " pr. midsomer quarter" in 1645, and in 1646 someone 
"pd Mr Jessop at his first cominge, with consent of the vestry 



Bristol^ 1624-1660. 17 

v". More paid for his housement with consent of Mr Amory 

The " Accompt of Monyes paid Disburst and Distributed 
by me, Thomas Amory, Churchwarden " has no items of 
special interest. There are allowances to the poor, such as 
" Y" widdow Stoakes when she was sent into Ireland iij'' j^ vjV 
or " a distressed minister v%" and " a minister's wife out of 
Ireland ; " and there is, as in other years, the pleasing touch of 
loyalty to " great Elizabeth " fifty years after her death : " Pd. 
y" ringers y'' ould Queenes Day iij^ iiij'*." The churchwarden 
in 1655, William Elliott (presumably Anne Elliott Amory's 
eldest brother) writes, " I paid for saying mass at a house in 
Ballan Street," and the next year Thomas Stephens has the 
same expression : " for a preest to cellabrate a mass." The use 
of the Book, of Common Prayer had been prohibited by Parlia- 
ment in 1647 under fine and imprisonment for the first ofi^ence, 
the Aft of 1645 having fixed the penalty for such use, even in 
private, at a year's imprisonment for the third ofi^ence. 

Another Chancery suit shows, from the books of John 
Bowen at Bordeaux, an "Accompt currant of Mr Thomas 
Amory ^'-^ of Bristoll, Merchant," for three years from 1646, 
with a total of ^18,632 4J. 8^. for wine, wheat, prunes, bacon, 
and tabys. All else that we know of his business is that he 
had " Colour-works," '■''^ and that he had generally two appren- 
tices. The last lad bound to him in the Prentice Book is 
(February loth, 1652-3): "John Culpeper, Sonne of John 
Culpeper of Hollingbourne in the County of Kent, gent. . . . 
a bond of 500'' from Sir Thomas Cullpep for service and 
truth." I infer from particulars of the Culpepper family 
(Hasted's " Kent " ; " Diflionary of National Biography,") 

D 



1 8 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

that this apprentice was a son of the proscribed royalist Sir 
John afterwards Lord Colepeper ; and that on his elder 
brother's death he succeeded to the title : but he was not 
otherwise distinguished. 

Worse, probably, from the financial point of view, than 
any evils of despotism or war, was the strain imposed by 
Cromwell's taxation. With an army to support and pay whose 
numbers amounted to one hundredth of the whole population, 
the Prote<3:or's government required nearly four times as great 
a revenue as had been grudged to the King, and had an im- 
poverished country from which to draw it. " Pauperism," 
says a modern writer,^^ " increased to such a frightful extent 
that it was computed by competent authority that at the time 
when Charles II. ascended the throne there were no fewer 
than ten thousand persons [/.^., about one in six hundred of 
the population] suffering imprisonment for debt, and that a 
much greater number were in hiding or living in perpetual 
fear of the sheriffs' officers." 

Thomas Amory, as early as 1650, assigned,"- perhaps as 
security for debt, the lease of St. Ann's House, though he 
continued to have it for his country house, and to carry on 
the colour-works. About six years later he assigned the lease 
of Parphey's holding. By this time his eldest son was grown 
up. This son, Thomas — whom it will be best to distinguish 
at once as Thomas of Galy, the place where he afterwards 
lived — is not (nor is his brother Hugh) in the Bristol books as 
apprentice, burgess, or Merchant Venturer, although he^^ (like 
Hugh^^) is elsewhere called " Merchant." Perhaps both were 
apprenticed in London and made Merchant Adventurers there 
— " Merchants of the Staple," as the old name was. Thomas 



Bristol, 1 6 24- 1 660. 19 

seems to have been in a position to help his father early in 
1657, for the St. Ann's lease was then made over to him, and 
the next year he bought that property, Parphey's, and four or 
five other holdings in the neighbourhood, amounting to about 
two hundred acres, and received leases and surrenders from his 
father ^^ and all the assignees. 

In the autumn of 1658 Mr. Thomas Amory was a candi- 
date, without success, in the election by the Corporation from 
among its members of a new keeper of the Backhall.-'''' The 
Backhall was a public warehouse and market, whose keeper or 
master paid ^40 a year to the city out of his " profitts and 
emoluments." 

In February, 1659-60, "the apprentices of Bristoll^'^ 
assembled and cried up for a Free Parliament, keeping the 
city a week " ; the remnant of the Long Parliament was in 
session under the Army's direftion, and began to be spoken of 
openly as " those Usurpers." Presently the sovereign Army 
was deposed by its own leader, and on the 25th of May King 
Charles landed at Dover. Two or three times during the 
summer Thomas Amory is at meetings of the Common 
Council, and in September, to a list in the Minutes including 
his name, there is this note : 

"These Thirtie and three whose names are on this side 
did y^ 14''' day of September 1660 abovesd take the Oath of 
Allegiance and Supremacie ''^ before us 

" Edward Tyson May'" 
"Walter Sandy." 

A mark against his name in the list of members summoned 
to a meeting, November 6th, 1660, seems to mean that he was 



20 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

present ; his name is still there in the March following, but 
with no mark. Nor is he present at the Merchants' meeting 
in November, 1661, the last to which he is summoned. It 
was a question before the Court of Chancery twenty years 
later whether he remained in Bristol until May, 1662. The 
point itself has less interest for us than some of the evidence 
bearing upon it.^^ At a hearing at Bristol in 1689 the first 
deponent is " Thomas Hart als Blacker of Briselton \i.e.^ 
Brislington] gentleman, aged 71 years or thereabouts . . . did 
well know Thomas Amory the elder formerly of the citty of 
Bristol, Merchant, since deceased, to whom he this deponent 
was for many years a Servant as Clarke or Agent for him in 
certain Colorworkes which he the said Thomas Amory for- 
merly had . . . He did see the said Thomas Amory the elder 
before he went first to Ireland att his own countrey house at 
Briselton aforesaid signe, seale and deliver the Indenture. . . . 
And thereupon this deponent and George Bonvile who was 
alsoe present did subscribe their names as witnesses, as did like- 
wise Love Warren . . . subscribe her mark." 

" Love Warren of the citty of Bristol, widow, aged 60 years 
and upwards . . . did heretofore well know Thomas Amory the 
elder, deceased, grandfather of the said Complainant, having 
lived several years with him as his household servant. She did 
see the Indenture sealed and delivered att his countrey house in 
Busselton \i.e, Brislington] . . . before his removall to Ireland, 
and she and Thomas Hart and George Bonvile witnessed it, 
who were all at that time servants to the said Thomas Amory." 
Hart, deposing again (this time on the ,Complainant's side) 
" knows Thomas Amory did remove into Ireland, but doth 
not remember in what year." Love Warren, likewise, " de- 



Bristol, 1624-1660. 



21 



poseth that to the best of her remembrance he removed with 
his family into Ireland about the time that our late Soveraigne 
Lord King Charles the Second returned to his kingdome of 
England; which the deponent doth the better remember be- 
cause after such the said Thomas Amoryes removall ... she 
... did fetch flowers from Busselton to Bristol against the 
saide kinges corona9on " — which took place April 23rd 1661. 
" George White, woollendraper, late one of the Sheriffs of the 
Citty of Bristoll, aged 50 years and upwards, deposeth . . , 
did know Thomas Amory the elder, formerly of St. Anne's 
. . . and Thomas Amory his sonne. To the best of his re- 
membrance the said Thomas Amory the elder removed with 
his family from Bristoll to Ireland before 1662, which this 
deponent doth the rather believe for that some time before 
the said Thomas Amory the elder did remove to Ireland as 
aforesaid he bought a quantity of cloth of this deponent's late 
father being then a woollendraper, for which neither this de- 
ponent nor his late father have been hitherto paid, but the 
same remaines still charged on theire bookes, which cloth this 
deponent believes the said Thomas Amory soe bought to 
cloathe his family withall." 

At a hearing for the same case, in Gal way, in 1704, Robert 
Amory deposes that he " often heard his father Thomas Amory 
... and Thomas Amory the father of the plaintiffs, talke of 
a lease perfefted to the said Thomas Amory the Grandfather 
by Sir John Lacy, Knight and Rowland Lacy Esq. of the lands 
mentioned. . . . Believes the same was determinable on the 
death of this examinant . . . knows and is very sure that he 
this examinant is the Robert Amory whose life is mentioned 
m the said lease and well remembers that his father the said 



22 The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 

Thomas Amory told him soe, and was with him in the orchard 
next the said messuage . . , knows not which of the Lacys it 
was that he saw, but remembers to have seen one of that name 
att his father's house att St. Ann's near Bristole before he left 
England which was in the year 1660." Mary Hoskyns als 
Amory " has often heard her mother Anne Amory alias Elliott 
say that there was a lease of the house or messuage granted to 
Thomas Amory ... for the life of Robert Amory son of the 
said Thomas Amory . . . knows that Thomas Amory . . . 
had issue beside the said Robert, by his wife Anne Elliott and 
by no other wife as followeth : Thomas, Hugh, John, Henry, 
Jonathan, Anne Amory now Chappell, Mary Amory now 
Hoskyns, Elizabeth Amory now Coynes, and one other 
Elizabeth who died young. Knows that the said Thomas 
Amory of Bristole, Merchant, grandfather of the plaintiffs 
died at Dingle in Kerry but she cannot remember the year. 
Thomas Amory, father of the plaintiffs, died at Garryard, in 
the County of Kerry, . . . cannot remember the year but 
knows it was some months before the death of Thomas Amory 
the grandfather." 






CHAPTER III. 

Ireland, i 660-1 695. 

HOMAS of Galy married Elizabeth Fitzmaurice, 
one of the daughters of Patrick, 19th Baron 
Kerry of Lixnaw. Making his will at London, 
in 1660, Lord Kerry names six trustees^" to settle 
his estate, two of whom are his son-in-law, Sir Thomas Leigh, 
son and heir of Lord Leigh of Stoneleigh, and Dean Boyle, 
afterwards Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ire- 
land. A third is " my son-in-law Thomas Amorie, Merchant." 
It was doubtless through this Irish and Royalist connexion 
that Thomas obtained the appointment of Chief Commissioner 
of the Navy in Ireland. He mortgaged the Brislington pro- 
perty<'i for ^(^1,000 in June 1660, entering with his wife into 
a " Recognizance or writing obligatory in the nature of a 
Statute Staple before the Mayor of the Staple of the Citty of 
London and the Recorder of the said citty ; " and " within 
few months after . . . removed with his family into Ireland 
in order to attend and manage his Imployment of Vidualler 
General of his . . . Majesty King Charles the Second's shipps 
in that kingdom." His house at Galy, Listowel, was about 
ten miles from Lixnaw in the County Kerry. He sat for 



24 'The Descendants of Hugh Atnory. 

Ardfert in the Irish Parliaments^ from 1661 to 1666. In 
1 66 1 in the Dublin Prerogative Court, administration was 
granted to Thomas Amory on the goods, etc., of his brother, 
Hugh Amory,*^^ deceased intestate, late of Lisbon, in Portugal, 
merchant." In 1663 Queen Catherine "^^ wrote to the Duke 
of Ormond : " I am informed that Mr. Thomas Amory is 
a very honest Gentleman and one very well affefted to the 
service of the King my dearest Lord and Husband ; he is 
very likely to have need of your proteftion and my desire 
to you is that upon this my recommendacon you will show 
him all the favor his businesse is capable of. I am assured his 
pretensions are just and that he will deserve your countenance." 
In 1666 Thomas Amory, Esq., had" a grant of Ballyboneene,^^ 
etc., in Co. Kerry, 2953a. 2. 21, as Plan Meas." A few days 
before the date of the grant he wrote to the Duke of Ormond's 
secretary, to suggest putting fire-ships ^^ in Kinsale and other 
harbours as a preparation against the rumoured invasion by 
the French. " The maner of doing it I have desired my agent 
Capt. Crispin to specify in the inclosed paper. ... I am now 
going for Kerry where I have not beene 11 dayes these 17 
months, and shall post thence if any com''^ follow mee." Early 
in the next summer he died. After arranging his son's inherit- 
ance, with provision for his wife and two daughters, his will,^'^ 
made in August, 1666, gives one-sixth of the personal estate 
to be divided among his brothers and sisters. A codicil in 
May, 1667, adds jC^°o ^o Robert's share, giving "my stocke 
of sheepe . . . for the maintenance of my father, mother, 
sister Mary and sister Ann and brothers Henry and Jonathan 
. . . and ^10 to my Unkle Robert Ellyott " (who seems to 
have become an unsuccessful planter in Antigua). "^^ Another 



Ireland^ 1660- 1695. 25 

item of the will is: "In case my sonne Thomas dye without 
Issue male or that I shall have no other sonne by my wife then 
my will is that all my right, title, Interest & Estate in ffee 
shall come and bee to the only use and behoofe of my two 
eldest brothers, John, Robert, Henry or Jonathan as they 
shall bee then living and theire heires to bee equally divided 
betwixt them, subjeft nevertheless to the raising of one 
thousand pounds ster. as portions for . , , each of my said 
daughters," etc. 

The first Thomas Amory's widow, Ann Elliott, and her 
son Henry, died before 1704.^^ John and Robert settled as 
merchants at Galway,*^'' and were members of the Common 
Council, John being second sheriff in 1678 and 1 679, and after- 
wards an alderman. Their three sisters married Galway 
merchants. 

Our ancestor, Jonathan, the youngest of the family, became 
a merchant at Dublin, where he is recorded in 1675 as the 
nominal purchaser '^ from the city of the north strand of the 
Liffey. Maps of Dublin as late as 1728 mark a part of it as 
"Amory's Ground," and in 18 16 ^1 \os. annual rent for it 
from "Jonathan Armory" still formed an item of the city's 
income, which, I need hardly say, neither Jonathan nor his 
heirs continued to pay. The real purchaser was one of the 
sheriffs, Humphrey Jervis, a merchant to whom Jonathan was 
perhaps apprenticed. Jervis had the aid and sanation of the 
then Lord Lieutenant, the Earl of Essex (Capel of Wrington), 
in a scheme for reclaiming the strip of land shown at low tide 
on the north side of the river, and making streets there. 
Dublin, hitherto, had lain wholly on the south side. 

In 1 676 Jervis and Dr. Glendy, prebendary of St. Michael's, 

E 



26 "The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

were two of the three overseers named in the will of " David 
Houston "'"^ of Lazyhill neere the city of Dublin, marriner," to 
aid Houston's widow as executrix, and to take the guardian- 
ship of the children, "if she happen to marrie again." The 
property consisted of shares in ships — the " Rebecca," the 
" Little Katherine," the " Great Katherine," etc., etc., — also 
of stock in them, with profit and produce ; goods in the 
Canaries, etc. One quarter of it was left to the testator's wife 
Rebecca, together with " my interest in my now dwelling- 
house with all my household goods, plate and other things 
thereto belonging." The rest was divided between the three 
children, David, Humphrey, and Ann Houston. In a volume 
of grants at the Dublin Record Office is a marriage licence : '^ 
" Amory et Houston. Lia ad solemnizand mromn inter 
Jonathan Amory poa Sn Michaelis Dublin mercator et 
Rebeccam Houston poa S" Andrea Dublin vid concess fuit et 
est p [word illegible] Michael Dublin Archepi 31° die Mens 
Maij Ano Dmi 1677° Direft Johni Glendy S.T.D. Prabend 
Prabendia St. Michaelis Dued et subsignat p. Johem Popham 
L. D. Rirar GenTlem Dcr Archiepi et sigillat cum sigillo Cur 
Consd. Dublin." [Amory and Houston. Licence for the 
solemnization of matrimony between Jonathan Amory of the 
parish of St. Michael, Dublin, Merchant, and Rebecca 
Houston of the parish of St. Andrew, Dublin, widow, was and 
is granted by . . . Michael, Archbishop of Dublin, the 31st 
day of the month of May, a.d. 1677, to John Glendy, S.T.D. , 
prebendary of the prebend of St. Michael's," etc.] 

There is no indication of Rebecca's maiden name. A letter 
written fifty years later ''* to her son Thomas Amory by an 
Amory cousin speaks of" your mother's brother, Geo. Houston," 



Ireland^ 1 660-1 695. 27 

David Houston's will mentions no brothers, but gives small 
bequests to " my cozen George Houston, my cousins Elen 
Houston, and her daughter Jene Binker, Maran Houston, my 
sister-in-law Ellison Dawlin and to her daughter." It is not 
implied that there are relations anywhere but in Dublin. 

Lazy (= Lazar's) Hill, lying between Trinity College and 
the river, was then outside the town, although attached to the 
Dublin parish of St. Andrew's. The LifFey, not yet narrowed 
and straightened, washed two sides of it, and in a storm at high 
tide had been known to come up over it to the College grounds. 
It is now as other crowded city districts which have wharves 
at one end and a railway-station at the other, with streets of 
age-blackened tenements and workshops between. In St. 
Andrew's registers,'^ searched from i6~'o to 1690, are these 
two entries : 

"1680. Baptized April i. Judith D. of Jonathan e 

Almery. 

" 1682. Baptized May 12. Thomas, Son of Jonath: e Rebec: 
Almery." 

The page is signed " Michael Hewetson, Presb." 
Our ancestor who settled in Boston, left in his own hand- 
writing a record '^'^ which begins : "I, Thomas Amory, son 01 
Jonathan Amory and Rebeckah Amory, was born in Dublin 
in May, 1682, and was christened at Christ Church, my 
cousin Thos. Amory my Godfather." As to Christ Church I 
have doubts, for the absence of an entry in the registers or 
that church supports the evidence given by the register of 
St. Andrew's. Christ Church, moreover, was considered the 
Chapel Royal of Dublin, and in the seventeenth centurji no 



28 The Descendants of Hugh Atnory. 

one below the nobility, I am told, would have been likely to 
have a special service there. 

For the next nine years of Jonathan's life we have no exadl 
dates. In 1678 his brother Robert had left Galway^'' for the 
West Indies, and at some time later than May, 1682, Jonathan 
and Rebecca followed, taking with them the infants, Judith 
and Thomas, and Rebecca's daughter, Ann Houston. After 
arriving in the New World, Rebecca died. Mr. T. C. Amory 
believed that this was about 1685, and he states that a friend 
of his had " seen the record of her interment on the register 
of one of the Churches in Barbadoes." '^ Whether Jonathan 
had intended to settle at Barbadoes or was there only on his way 
to another colony ; w^hether he remained in the island until 
after his second marriage ; in what year this took place, and to 
what family his second wife belonged are unanswered questions. 
We know that Rebecca's son Thomas is said (by his widow 
forty years later ''^) to have lost his mother while too young 
to remember her ; we know that the second wife's Christian 
name was Martha ; and we know that Jonathan's daughter 
Sarah, who seems to have been Martha's, can hardly have been 
born later than 1 690, since she married in 1 706. In McCrady's 
" History of Carolina " (vol. i. p. 327 n.) it is said that Jonathan 
Amory came to that colony from Jamaica. A letter from the 
Lords Proprietors**^ to a Governor, in November, 1691, men- 
tions Jonathan Emery without further definition, as if he were 
a known inhabitant of Charleston, and we know that within 
the next three years Amory 's son Thomas was a school-fellow 
of Arthur Middleton's in Carolina. Before December, 1694, 
Thomas, now twelve years old, and Ann Houston, about 
eighteen, were sent, under the care of Mrs. Quarry, to England, 



Ireland^ 1660- 169 5. 29 

where the boy lived for several years with his godfather, in 
London, Ann returning to Dublin. In the Dublin Grants,*^^ 
December i8th, 1694, licence is given to the Rev. John 
Travers to marry James Ramsay of St. Andrew's to Ann 
Houston of the same parish, spinster; August 14th, 1695, ad- 
ministration on the goods of Humphrey Houston, late of 
Lazyhill, near the city of Dublin, mariner, " sed in partibus 
transmarinis decedentis," is granted to "Jacopo Ramsay de 
Lazyhill, Pistori, et Anne Ramsay als Houston " his wife, 
sister to the said deceased; and September 2nd, 1695, ad- 
ministration on the goods of Rebecca Amory, otherwise Hous- 
ton, late of Lazyhill, but since deceased in the island of Bar- 
badoes, is granted to James Ramsay, of Lazyhill, and Ann 
Ramsay, otherwise Houston, daughter of the said deceased. 






CHAPTER IV. 

Carolina, i 690-1 707. 

p N those days the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, a 
Chartered Company of eight men resident in 
London, were attempting to govern their distant 
province on a feudal system devised by the philo- 
sopher, John Locke (who, by the way, was born at Wrington). 
They were also trying to suppress in their dominion illegal 
trading and the encouragement of pirates, two failings to which 
all the ports of the American coast were frankly addifted. 
The pirates were not yet such outlaws as they became in the 
next generation, but rather " private warriors," sometimes 
having letters of marque against the Spaniards from one or 
other of the Colonial Governors. The Governor's adtion 
would be justified on the ground that pirates helped the poorer 
planters, by viftualling their vessels from them, and employ- 
ing them at high wages, as well as by selling prize goods 
cheap. Charleston, finding its rulers unsympathetic on these 
and other points, became so mutinous, that in 1690 Governor 
Colleton suppressed its popular assembly and proclaimed 
martial law. One of the Lords Proprietors, named Sothell, 



Carolina^ 1690- 1707. 31 

happening just then to come that way, amused himself by- 
taking the popular side, banishing the Governor, and protect- 
ing anarchy for a year before his colleagues in London heard 
of it. Hearing, they at once sent orders for him to be de- 
posed and his ads annulled, and that Colonel Ludwell should 
be Governor, their instructions to whom *- (November 8th, 
1 691) contain the following passage : " You are to make strift 
inquiry upon oath if Mr. Sothell did grant any comission to 
Pyrates for rewards or otherwise w"^*^ Jonathan Emery knows 
as wee are informed who had twenty guineas for procuring a 
Comission from s^ Sothell ; and if you shall find any such 
Comission -was granted by him in our names, you are to enter 
our dissent to it on record." In 1692, Jonathan Amory was 
returned as a member for Berkeley County to Governor Lud- 
well's first parliament, which requested an adl of indemnity. 
The Governor bade them look to their journals and see what 
clemency could be expefted : the request astonished him — 
" Mr Speaker, we must own we understand it not." Unabashed 
and pressing their demand, the Assembly prepared a statement 
of grievances and of their claims under the Provincial Con- 
stitution. Jonathan Amory, Speaker, signs this first American 
Bill of Rights.*^ It deals not only with the difficulties of the 
moment, but with the fundamental questions at issue between 
the proprietors and their colonists, Ludwell was obliged to 
allow the framing by a Committee of a new system of govern- 
ment, setting aside what the proprietors (though they yielded 
to the change) still thought " the excellent system of Locke." 
Their lordships soon recalled Ludwell, and Archdale, one of 
themselves, took his place for a time, arriving in August, 1695, 
when he " found all matters in great confusion and every fac- 



32 'The Descendants of Hugh Atnory. 

tion apply'd themselves to me in hopes of relief. I appeased 
them with kind and gentle words and . . . call'd an Assembly," 
whose demands soon put too great a strain on his kindness and 
he dissolved them. Jonathan Amory the Speaker immediately 
presented a petition in behalf of himself and the people, pray- 
ing for a new Assembly with more representatives, which 
Archdale granted, and several desired measures were passed. 
On Archdale's return to England, in 1696, he carried with him 
the following address : ^* 

"The humble address and recognition of thanks by the 
Commons assembled in Charles town, to the right honourable 
the true and absolute lords proprietors and to the right honour- 
able John Archdale, Esq., governor of Carolina. 

" Right Honourable 

*' We, the representatives of the freemen of South 
Carolina, being profoundly sensible of your most gracious 
condescension, in commissioning and investing the right 
honourable John Archdale esq., Governor, with such large and 
ample powers for the encouragement of the inhabitants of this 
colony, do most humbly recognize and most sincerely thank 
your lordships for the same, and for .the remission of some 
arrears of rents, the undeniable manifestation of your paternal 
care over us ; and we the Commons now assembled, no less 
sensible of the prudent, industrious and indefatigable manage- 
ment of the said powers by the said John Archdale, Esq., do 
in most humble manner acknowledge the same, and that we 
doubt not the fruits thereof will be the peace, welfare, and 
tranquillity, plenty, prosperity and safety of this colony and the 



Carolina^ 1 690-1 707. 33 

people therein. The a6ls of grace to which you have so 
seasonably condescended have removed all former doubts 
jealousies and discouragements of us the people and have laid 
a firm and sure foundation on which may be erefted a most 
glorious superstructure to the honour of the lords proprietors 
and of our Governor, which we do and shall forever be most 
heartily obliged to attribute to the wisdom and discretion, 
patience and labour of the honourable John Archdale, Esq., 
our governor whom we the Commons request to return this 
our recognition of thanks to your lordships and so we shall ever 
humbly pray. 

•' JoNATH.A.N Amory, Speaker." 

When in 1697 the Crown established Courts of Admiralty 
in the colonies, Jonathan Amory was made Advocate General 
in South Carolina under His Majesty's commission. He was 
also Public Treasurer by appointment of the Proprietary 
Government. The Proprietors' record of grants of land *^ has 
his name for the first time in May, 1694, and repeatedly in the 
next four years. There are two slightly differing lists, the first 
of which gives him a total of eleven town lots and 1,200 acres 
outside the town ; by the second he has nine town lots and 
5,860 acres outside, at a quit rent amounting to about twenty- 
five shillings a year. The price of land had been fixed by his 
Assembly under Archdale at _^20 per 1,000 acres. At his 
death he owned some other town-lots and plantations not bought 
diredly from the Proprietors, and had parted with some of 
those in the lists. By his will*'' dated November 23rd, 1697, 
— " I give and bequeath unto my Son Mr Joseph Croskeys all 
that Peice of land that lyeth next the Rat-trap w"^** was bought 

E 



34 The Desce7ida?its of Hugh Ainory. 

of Andrew Lawson and lyeth on the left hand of the broad 
Path as you goe into the country. ... I likewise request 
my Executrix to make a title to him of that Peice of land 
w'^^ lyeth near to my dwelling house w'^'> I gave to him with 
my Daughter. I also give him my best silver-headed Cane." 
The daughter who had been married to Joseph Croskeys, 
and who had evidently died before her father made his will, 
must have been Judith, baptized at Dublin seventeen and a 
half years before this time. She is not mentioned again, and 
by March, 1700, Sarah Amory, " an infant," is named as "the 
only daughter living" of "Jonathan Amory late of Charles 
Town, Merchant." Joseph Croskeys, merchant, made his will 
December 2nd, 1700, when he had a wife Margaret and an 
only son John. Margaret survived him, and also survived her 
second husband, James Ingerson of Charles Town, merchant, 
who died in 1712. She was living in Jamaica as late as 171 9, 
and is clearly not an Amory, for she receives no gift in Jonathan's 
will, is wholly ignored in his widow's, has no share in the 
guardianship of his orphaned children, and is never mentioned 
in any of his elder son's letters, written at all dates between 
1706 and 1728. More than once in these letters Thomas 
counts over what relations he has living and what parts of the 
world they are in.; he writes often to his mother's daughter 
Ann, calling her " dear Sister," and is equally affeftionate and 
attentive to his father's daughter Sarah. It cannot be that the 
one sister whom we know to be daughter to both his father 
and his mother and close to himself in age, could have been 
living and yet forgotten by him. I insist on a point so obvious 
only because we have for so long had Margaret provisionally 
in the family lists that there is danger of her becoming fixed 



Carolina^ 169 0-1707. 35 

there unless with some emphasis we remove her to make room 
for Judith. 

Jonathan left " unto my loving wife Martha my Dwelling 
house in Charles Town and all the Land paled in ab' the same 
during her Natural life, and after her Death ... to my sonns 
Thomas and Robert Amorys. . . . Unto my said Loving Wife 
all her wearing apparel and all the Plate and household Goods 
belonging to my said Dwelling house . . . Unto my Daughter 
Sarah the sum of Three hundred Pounds and to my Daughter 
Anne the like sum . . . All the . . . Residue of my Estate 
both Real and Personal in this World I give . . . unto my 
loving Wife Martha and my Two Sonns Thomas & Robert 
Amorys to be equally divided between them." His wife was 
to be sole executrix during her life, and to be succeeded by 
Thomas and Robert. She was authorized to sell the real 
estate, but any money raised thereby must be secured to the 
sons. Among other legacies was one " to Sarah Rhett, 
Daughter to Capt" Wm Rhett Ten Pounds paid into the 
hands of her Mother to buy her a gold chaine." 

Two years after the date of his will Jonathan died. The 
year 1699 was a year of calamities in Charleston. Pirates, 
hurricane, flood, a devastating fire, a fatal epidemic of smallpox 
are reported, and finally the Governor and Council write ^'^ to 
the Lords Proprietors of " a most infeftious pestilential and 
mortal distemper . . . which was brought in among us into 
Charles Town about the 28''' or 29''^ of August last past ; and 
the decay of trade and mutations of your Lordships' public 
officers occasioned thereby. This distemper from the time of 
its beginning aforesaid to the first day of November killed in 
Charles Town at least one hundred and sixty persons : among 



36 The Desce?idants of Hugh Amory. 

whom were Mr Eley, Receiver General ; Mr Amory, Re- 
ceiver for the Public Treasury ; Edward Rawlins, Marshall ; 
Edmund Bohun, Chief Justice. Amongst a great many other 
good and capital Merchants and Housekeepers in Charles 
Town, the Rev Mr Marshall our Minister was taken away by 
the said distemper." One historian speaks of the vi6tims as 
" an incredible number of people among whom were . . . almost 
half the members of the Assembly " ; another says they in- 
cluded " nearly all of the public officers and one half the legis- 
lature." The survivors fled into the country — " the town was 
thinned to a very few people." Jonathan's widow Martha 
died almost immediately after him, having provided for the 
care of her three little children and of the property that was 
theirs and their absent half-brother's, by putting everything 
into the hands of Captain and Mrs. Rhett, mentioned in her 
husband's will. Rhett, of Dutch extraftion but born at 
London, had come to Carolina in 1694 with his wife and 
child. Twenty-eight years of age, merchant and sea-captain 
by profession, he had qualities which soon found their sphere 
in the politics of the colony and its military defence. " Men 
of his decided courage and conduct," says Mr. Ramsey, "were 
eminently useful in the first period of colonization." His 
name is usually coupled with that of Nicholas Trott, formerly 
Governor of the Bahamas, then Attorney General and Naval 
Officer of Carolina. Ramsey calls them " the most distin- 
guished Carolinians of their day." ®^ Trott and his wife were 
witnesses to Martha Amory's will,^'' in which the first item is : 
" I do give . . . unto my dear Friend Mrs Sarah Rhett my 
Gold Watch and my horse and horse Netts and my white quilted 
Petticoat." Then, " Unto W"" Rhett Junior, the Son of Capt" 



Carolina^ 1690-1707. 37 

W*" Rhett five pounds to buy a ring . . . Unto Sarah Rhett the 
Daughter of Capt" W"" Rhett Twenty Pounds." The legacies to 
her own children were : " Unto my son Robert Amory my wed- 
ding ring . . . Unto my Daughter Sarah my Gold Girdle buckle 
& gold Locket & six Silver Spoons . . . Unto my Daughter 
Anne my gold Shoe buckles and a gold buckle of my night 
Raile and Six Silver Spoons." " Item, I do give and bequeath 
unto my Son Thomas Amory my largest silver Tankard." 
All her other estate whatsoever she left to Thomas and 
Robert, Thomas's part, if he should die without issue, revert- 
ing to Robert and the two girls. " I do nominate and appoint 
my dearly beloved Friend Mrs Sarah Rhett . . . Executrix . . . 
and my beloved Son Robert Amory Executor of this my last 
Will . . . and . . . the Education of my Children Robert 
Amory, Sarah & Anne, shall be at the sole ordering of" 
Mrs. Rhett, who is also to be sole Executrix during Robert's 
minority. The provincial records show that Robert and Ann 
died soon after their mother, and " Thomas Amory son of said 
Jonathan Amory being in England, the admn of the personal 
estate of said Jonathan Amory was granted " to Sarah Rhett, 
" Exix of the last will of said Martha Amory deceased, . . . 
legally appointed Curatrix of the said Thomas Amory only son 
and heir at law of the said Jonathan Amory ; and Guardian of 
Sarah Amory the only daughter living of the said Jonathan." 
By Aft of Assembly,*^ March ist, 1700, Mrs. Rhett was given 
power to sell " with the advice and consent of Ralph Izard, 
Esq., and Job Howes Esq." 

Mrs. Rhett's account ^'^ rendered on making a division be- 
tween the heirs in 1707, shows that Jonathan Amory's house 
was let soon after his widow's death to Colonel James Moore, 



38 The Descendants of Hugh Amorj. 

who within the year became Governor. He had the house at 
a rent of _^29 per annum for two years and two months, giving 
it up apparently at the same time with the governorship. Sir 
Nathaniel Johnson, succeeding him in that office, also for six 
months took the house. Its next tenant was a Mrs. Elizabeth 
Hastings, who had it less than a year before it burned down 
and the estate had no farther receipts from it. Colonel and 
Mrs. Rhett afterwards built a house for themselves on the site, 
and this is mentioned by Dr. Joseph Johnson®'' in 1 851, as 
" still the respeftable residence of Mrs. E. Stoney, No. 26 
Hasel Street." Dr. Johnson also states that after Colonel 
Rhett's death, when his widow married Nicholas Trott, the 
property which had belonged to the Amorys became known 
as Trott's Point. It " extended from the channel of Cooper 
river westwardly to King Street, embracing both sides of 
Hasell Street on the south, and both sides of Wentworth Street 
on the north. The lot No. 48, adjoining to ' Cumming's land ' 
also extended beyond King Street westwardly to St. Philip's 
Street where ' Cumming's land ' commenced." Mrs. Rhett's 
Accounts mention, beside sixteen town-lots, over 3,000 acres 
outside the town under the names Bear Swamp, Meaders, the 
Cowpen, and Clowters. Clowters, comprising 420 acres, was 
a rice plantation, with an overseer, named Elias Storey, and 
negroes counted as eight men, eight women, five boys, and 
three girls. There were also negroes at the Cow Pen, — 300 
acres — and rice was sold from it. John Storey and Joseph 
Ward were two of Mr. Amory's servants, who died in 
November, 1699, Mrs. Rhett charging the estate with the 
expense of " inviting the People " to their funerals. She 
mentions, also, two negro servants, Hercules and Mercury, and 



Carolina^ 1690- 1707. 39 

several times pays for the material and making of clothes for 
the negroes. January 31st, 1699- 1700, she pays £^if\ os. z^hd. 
for one eighth of the Brig Dove's cargo ; ^38 \os. %d. for " one 
eighth of the charges of the last voyage and the outsett of this 
Present being bound for the Western Islds." On the same date 
she receives " of Captain Richard Cock for the \ part of the 
Proceeds of the Wine imported in the Brig Dove j^iT-o \s, 6d" 
Part of the estate, lot No. 55, is defined as the tanyard. 
On the 4th of January the Executrix sells 1,454 lbs. of leather 
for ^36 ys. od. She sells Bisquet at 28 shillings per 100 lbs.; 
barrels of flour at 20 shillings per 100 lbs., or sometimes at 
22/6 or 25 shillings; salt at i shilling 6^d. per bushel; rice 
from the Cow Pen at 15 shillings per 100 lbs; from Clowter's 
at 6 shillings ^\d. She sells Calf-skins, bear-skins, negro 
shoes, raw silk ; a Boat ^^13; Guns at £1 apiece, gunpowder 
at £s^ per 100 lbs. ; ten wether muttons for £j \os. od. ; and 
a lamb 10 shillings." She buys " 1025 foot of Boards to make 
the Silk Works at the Plantation ; " pays about ,^30 to clothe 
the negroes; six shillings and threepence "for taking up the 
Negroe Cssar when he ran away ; " one pound " paid Coll. 
Gibbs for taking up a wild horse belonging to the Estate of 
Mr. Amory." Again, " Boards and timber for the silk-works at 
Clowter's Plantation ;" " powder and shott for the Plantation ;" 
" a gallon ot Brandy for the Overseer." There are payments, 
too, of Dr. Marshall's salary to the date of his death (Sep- 
tember 8th, 1699) made to his widow ; and to her also " for 
y' freight of y^ Publick Library by order of the Commissioners 
_(ri2." Probably Jonathan Amory was Churchwarden. The 
" Publick Library " ''^ was a colleftion of books " sent over to 
Charlestown for the use of this Province," by the joint muni- 



40 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

ficence of the Lords Proprietors ; of the Bishop of London's 
Commissary in Maryland, Dr. Bray ; and of several Carolinians. 
In 1700, the Assembly finding it to be "justly feared that the 
Books belonging to the same will quickly be embezzled 
damaged or lost," passed an A6t placing them under the care 
of the Incumbent of the Church of England, in Charlestown, 
or when that post should be vacant, under the care of the 
Church Wardens, November i8th, 1699, Mrs. Rhett pays, 
" To whitewashing the house i i shillings 3'* ; to two flatt load 
of Shells to lay in the Guarden and Yard ^i ; to John Bonee 
for Pales & Rails ^i i8j. \\d. ; to Mr. Manigault for making 
the fence &c. £^\ js. 6d.\ to mending the windows £1." 
Among the personal effefts and household furniture sold are : 
" a Black silk Petticoat with silk fringes, a pair of Spanish 
leather shoes ; a suit of holland head-cloaths ; " 12 cane chairs 
sold to Landgrave Thos. Smith £6 ; an Oval Table and one 
Square Table sold to Dr. Edward Marston (Dr. Marshall's 
successor at St. Philip's) at £1 \os. od. and ^i 2s. 6d. ; One 
large looking glass £2 ios.\ 2 Alabaster Images; 2 Glass 
Bottles and i drinking glass, 10 shillings ; a Checker Board and 
Men 2 shillings and 6 pence ; an old box and desk 10 shillings ; 
a Cydar Chest ^i 5J. od. ; a very old Chest 5 shillings ; reed, 
of my Self for a Suite of Silk Curtains etc. with white Lining 
£1 5^. od. ; a parcell of old fashion lace ; two small hiked 
swords; one hanger. The sum of ^12 is received " of my 
Self for one girdle gold buckle, i pr. of gold shooe Buckles, 
3 gold Shirt Buckles, one pair of gold night raile Buckles, 
2 gold Rings, weighing in all 2 ounces, 8 penny weight at 
_^5 per oz." A small oval table is sold for izsh. 6d.; 5 
Leather Chairs "/s/i. 6d.; 3 doz. old Pewter Plates and 63 lbs. 



Carolina^ 1690- 1707. 



41 



of very old Pewter Dishes, 3 doz. new Pewter Plates, 4 new 
Pewter Dishes." " Reed, of Mr. Fr. ffidling for one Negroe 
Man called Pompey sold at Publick Outcry ^^^ ^s. od. — 
abated for present money 5 p. ct." " Cash reed, for a Indian 
Girl named Nancy £i(>. For 2 Indian Boyes named Cubid 
& Brutos £2() 1 5J-. od." 



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CHAPTER V. 

BuNRATTV, 1677-1728. 

|ONATHAN'S son Thomas had been living in 
London since 1694 with that other Thomas 
Amory, his cousin and godfather, who was 
^^ Thomas of Galy's only son, and whom we dis- 
tinguish as Bunratty. This is a rather arbitrary designation, 
for he did not buy the lease of Bunratty Castle until after he 
was fifty, and he sold it again within fourteen years, dying 
there a year or two later as sub-tenant, it would seem. Ann 
Ramsey and her husband ^^ write of him as "the Squire." 
His mother, who had married again, died in London in 17 13, 
her second husband, Charles Roe O'Connor Kerry, having 
escaped to France after taking King James's side in 1690. Of 
her four daughters one Amory "^ and one O'Connor ^^ died 
unmarried ; Elizabeth Amory "' became first Mrs. Hart of 
Grangebridge, co. Clare, and afterwards Mrs. Croker ; and 
Julia O'Connor married ^^ her cousin Charles O'Connor of 
Dublin. Bunratty entered at Trinity College,^^ Dublin, in 
1677, took the B.A. in 1 681, was in that year allowed " being 
now nineteen years of age " to adl as executor ^*'" of his father's 
will; obtained in June, 1683, an Exchequer decree ^"^ com- 



Bunratty^ 1677-1728. 43 

pelling his guardian Raymond Fitzmaurice to release to him 
some three hundred acres in Shrone and elsewhere ; in the 
following Oftober was admitted at the Middle Temple,^*^^ 
London ; six weeks later brought the suit for Cottrell's hold- 
ing, and then began a forty years' worrying of the heirs of the 
mortgagee who had possession of the other Brislington 
property. He did not deny that his father had not " punc- 
tually paid the mortgage money," and that his guardian had 
for several years negledled the matter although they had 
abundant funds in Ireland to meet the obligation. In 1700 
Bunratty returned to Dublin as Register to the new Irish 
Forfeitures ^"^^ Commission appointed to investigate the scandals 
of the first one. In 1702 his uncle Robert landed at 
Galway ^"* returning from the West Indies, to spend the rest 
of his life chiefly in the counties of Galway and Clare. 
Robert's tobacco-planting and trading had been so far suc- 
cessful that he was able to buy through his nephew part of the 
lands ^"^ forfeited by the third Viscount Clare. This we learn 
from letters. In such deeds as we have ^^^ Robert's name 
appears only as a witness, and Bunratty only as lending cash — 
under j(^400 — for the purchase to one McDonnell, who, how- 
ever, made over to him half the land and a mortgage on the 
other half Five years later (1709) Bunratty assigned both 
halves for _^ 1,273 ^'^^- ^^- ^o Joseph Damer of the city of 
Dublin, Gentleman, but probably merely as security for a 
loan, for out of twenty-two lands mentioned by name in the 
deeds, fourteen reappear in his settlement of his estate in 
i726.i«^ 

Joseph Damer was in the early eighteenth century an 
important personage in Dublin, inasmuch as all the chief 



44 T'he Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

people of the place were borrowing money from him at a high 
rate of interest. To outward appearance he was a very poor 
old man, lodging over a tavern near Christ Church, and 
spending nothing there or elsewhere. Dying in 1720 at the 
age of ninety, he left an estate in Tipperary to one nephew, 
and an estate in Dorsetshire to another. A grandnephew who 
inherited both was created Baron Milton, and afterwards Earl 
of Dorchester. (See below. Chapter XVI.) 

In 1703 Bunratty married ^°^ Katharine, widow of Simon 
Luttrell, and had lawsuits with Simon's treacherous brother to 
obtain her jointure. She died pending the suit, but Bunratty 
continued it, and we find him four years later appealing to 
the House of Lords from the decision of the courts. In 17 10 
Robert Amory died at Bunratty, co. Clare, apparently intestate, 
but a will which he had left at Antigua was proved there, a 
copy arriving in Ireland two or three years later. ^"^^ By this will 
he made bequests to his Galway brother and sisters, leaving 
the residue of his property to Bunratty or, if the latter should 
die without lawful heirs, to " my nephew Thomas Amory, 
the son of my brother Jonathan Amory deceased." Bunratty 
had already taken possession of the property in Ireland as 
Robert's next-of-kin : he now proved the will at Dublin after 
getting his uncle John's attestation that he believed it to be 
genuine, and his consent that Bunratty should execute it. The 
document at the Dublin Record Office has therefore John's 
name twice signed upon it, each signature having a seal beside 
it. (See below. Chapter XVI.) 

In 171 2 Bunratty bought,^^° from his third cousin once 
removed (a young O'Brien who was Earl of Thomond, and 
with whom that title died), a lease of the ancestral castle of 



Bunratty^ 1677-1728. 45 

the O'Briens at Bunratty, co. Clare, where he lived for the rest 
of his life. He had also a town house in the northern part of 
Dublin."' In 17 17 he married"- Elizabeth Durroy who 
survived him. In 171 9 a Bristol merchant carried up a 
suit "^ against him from the Irish Court of Chancery to the 
House of Commons at Westminster, accusing him of various 
injustices, on which, however, we do not hear Bunratty 's 
answer. In 1728 he died. 

The statement in Burke (General Armory, editions of 
1878 and 1884) that "Thomas Amory, Esq. of Bunratty, was 
Lord Palatine of South Carolina under John Locke's charter," 
was based on a supposition of Mr. T. C. Amory's that the 
name "Tho. Amy" among the signatures of the Lords Pro- 
prietors might be a contradiion of Thomas Amory, and so 
account for Jonathan Amory's emigration to the province. 
Too much is now known of Thomas Amy "^ to admit of 
such a supposition. He was in London, acting as trustee for 
some of the Lords Proprietors, in 1682, when Bunratty had 
never left Ireland ; he married his daughter to a London 
cousin and namesake of Nicholas Trott, and he died in 1704, 
having been long a Proprietor though never Lord Palatine. 
We may remark that the Company were proprietors of 
Carolina as a whole, not South or North ; and that it 
was their Constitution, not their Charter, which was John 
Locke's. 

Mr. Weedon (" Economic and Social History of New 
England,") has understood that Bunratty placed his young 
cousin from Carolina at Westminster School, but the historian 
of the School, Mr. John Sargeaunt, to whom the Headmaster 
in 1896 referred my inquiry, states that there is no Amory on 



46 



The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 



the books earlier than Bunratty's grandson, Robert, who was 
there in 1745. About the time of his father's death, Jonathan's 
son Thomas was apprenticed to Nicholas Oursel, a French 
merchant in London, and went, no doubt, as was the custom, 
to live in his master's house. 






CHAPTER VI. 

The Azores, i 706-1 71 8. 

.A. MDCXCIX." is stamped in gilt on the white 
parchment cover of a pocicet-booli "•'* still in good 
condition. The earliest date inside, however, is 
April 1st, 1706, when ^^3 Ss. od. is "received 
from M. Oursel to pay my expences to Bristol!." At Bristol, 
it seems, the apprentice embarked, going as fadlor to Terceira 
in the Azores. A letter ^^"^ which his master wrote to him 
implies that more than one vessel was employed in the ex- 
pedition, and that Amory had a general command of the little 
fleet. He received directions concerning the disposition to 
be made of ships and cargoes on reaching the Azores, where, 
on his way to Angra, he touched at Fayal. The merchandize 
which he brought from England included blankets, stockings, 
nails, Cheshire cheeses, calimancoes, etc., and farther on in the 
account book are " du sucre, le Irish frize, du scavon, 8 
Chapeaux." 

" Londres ce 30 Avril 1706. 

" Mons. Thomas Amory 

" Monsieur 
"Jay En Leurs tams receu Les vostres 11: 18 & 19 courant 



48 "The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

par Lapremiere Jay vostre Comte de debours depuis Londres 
y Compris 357^ payer au Cousin le Berquien a comte de ces 
guajes Le tout Ensemb : ce monte a Ls. 3:17: dont vous aij 
donne Credit 6c debitte premierement pour les Ls. 3:8a vous 
paye a Londres avant vostre depart & pour Les ^4 : 9 revues a 
Bristoll de Mons. Peloquin. . . , 

"Jay eu du Chagrin d'aprendre par La vos'^ du 19 Comme 
deux devos Matelots vous avients quite vous estiez alors bien 
foible dequipage. Je vous suis oblige de cequaves prins La 
Resolution nonopstant Lepeu de mattelots departir. Le Bon 
Dieu vous afavorisez dubeau tarn & Vent favorab ce quej apren- 
dray avec beaucoup de Joye & quavez trouve tout comme 
nous nous sommes Proposes. Dieu Leveille avoir faidl ac- 
complir & nous donner Sa ste Benediction. J'espere quavez 
promtement depesche Le Cap"*^ Gouy suiv' mes ordres 
cequaprendray volontiers. . . . 

" Voillatout vous recommandant La Vigilance, L'exadlitude, 
L'ordre & La fidellite Jevo Salue & Le Cousin Le Berquien & 
Reste 

" Monsieur, Vostre tres humble Serviteur, 

" Nicolas Oursel." 

The following letter"' must have arrived the next winter : 

"South Carolina, Nov. 20"', 1706. 

" Mr. Thomas Amory, Sr. 

" Inclosed I have sent you Coppyes of the Letters I 
sent to you supposing they would find you in England, & by 
Mr. Pacquereau hearing you were gon to fiall and haveing 
this oppertunity by a Vessell from hence to the Madera 
thought proper to lett you know how things are with us. I 



The Azores^ 1706-17 18. 49 

have nothing to add since those were wrote but that yo' Sister 
is married to Mr. Arthur Midleton, & it is much to my 
satisfadlion, he is a very sober Ingenious man & is worth 
jTSoo — or ^1,000 & is believed to be one of the best 
matches in the Country. I doubt not but she will be very 
happy. She was married 29th of Ocflober last & now we 
shall with all possible speed come to the division of the Estate 
& I hope by the next oppertunity I shall be able to give you 
Ac(5l whatt will be your Share. & be Ashured I will do you 
all the Justice Imaginable, for though I do not personally 
know you yet you being the son of my friend, I shall study 
your interest to my utmost power. 

" Pray write to me by way of Madera & if you please to 
Informe my husband what will be proper for yo'' Island if we 
find it will do here he will send a vessell to you. he gives you 
his best Respedls & so doth yo^ 

" Ashured friend and most 
" Humble Servant 

"Sarah Rhett. 

" I suppose Mr. Midleton writes you by this oppertunity. 
You may write by New England, New York, or Pensilvania 
and they will come safe." 

With January 1710-11 begins the series of Thomas Amory's 
letter-books ^^^ in which we follow the rest of his history. 
[I.] In March, 171 I, Oursel has lately visited the Azores and 
returned to London. Amory thinks of making a voyage 
thither next year ; he asks if there is news of Colonel Rhett ; 
and would like to be English consul at Angra. " I do assure 
you," he adds, " that all the shop-keepers here in the city had 

H 



50 The Descejidants of Hugh Amory. 

rather buy of me than of any other, and have their word for 
the same." 

[II.] " Angra, April 24, 171 1. Our news here is y* King 
Philip was to besiege Barcellona and had taken Aaragon and 
Geronio, but that there is great Recruits going to King 
Charles from England, Lisbon, Portmorone, &c., y' will spoil 
all his attempts. Ys news came by a ship from Gibraltar 
bound for Boston." 

This, of course, was the war of the Spanish Succession 
(1702-17 1 3) in which William the Third shortly before his 
death had united all the rest of Europe against France. He 
was enabled to bring his English subjedts to a leading part in 
it, cold as they were to Continental interests, because Louis 
XIV. had enraged them by recognizing the Stuart Pretender. 
Marlborough's brilliant viftories with the forces of the Grand 
Alliance — an alliance including before the end Holland, 
England, the Empire, Prussia, Portugal and Savoy — gained 
William's main end, a degree of safety for the world's civil 
and religious liberty menaced by France. The immediate 
objedt of the war, however, — to prevent Louis from gaining 
the vast dominion of Spain for his grandson Philip of Anjou — - 
was abandoned. " King Charles," Archduke of Austria, 
became Emperor ; and " King Philip " was allowed to have 
Spain, with some dedu6tions of territory, notably of Minorca 
and Gibraltar, which were ceded to England. 

[III.] In May, 1706, Thomas Amory thanks Bunratty for 
a letter : " Am heartily sorry to see y' you are so hard put to 
it for my account . . . the sloop I had in partnership with a 
friend of mine, after their arrival here from Brazeel we sent 



The Azores^ 1706-1718. 51 

her to Boston . . . we suppose she was foundered at sea 
having heard nothing of her ... a great loss, with others I 
have reed besides at sea . . . has put me much backward and 
not able to do for you as affedlionately do desire. Pray God 
blessing me & give me good success & put me in a 
Capacity of gratifying you, the kindnesses I have received 
shall never be unmindful of retaliating y"" . . . Y' Bond 
of yours to Mr. Oursel I have given him particular charge to 
deliver it you up, as well when here as by my letters to him 
w'^'* you may depend he'l no manner of way refuse having 
much more in his hands of mine. I see you put CjT for 
Interest. I suppose he 1 not take any Interest. If should 
would take it a little hard usage for w' I have done for him 
... if does shall write him particularly thereon. ... As to 
the Bonds due to my Brother Ramsey I dont think y' I am 
any wayes obliged to pay y'" out of my own getings ... if it 
is due it must be paid out of w' my ffather left at Carolina w*^** 
is all there in Mad"* Rhett's hands. I do receive letters often 
from her and am very well satisfyed with w' she does . . . 
nor do I design to take anything out of her hands thinking it 
very secure w'*^ may serve one time or another In case of mis- 
fortune. She has writt me that those Bonds are not due and 
if they were my Brother Arthur Middleton is [to] be liable for 
his share of the Payment. Mr. Middleton is now in England 
and Mrs Rhett writes me y"^ my Sister has two fine children a 
son and a daughter. I am heartily sorry to hear of our uncle 
Robert's death and wonder that a man of his understanding 
and carefullness should die without a will. You mention to 
me of marriage there is no such thing to be thought on if I 
lived here ever so long, if things dont go to my expediion I 



52 The Desce7idants of Hugh Ai?iory. 

shall think of removing to some other forreign part, Italy, 
Spain, &c. where ever do goe shall allwayes give you Notice 
for here I must stay a twelve Month to accomplish all my 
business and goe of honorably at y" end of y' time shall noe 
How to proceed. I wish you would stand my ffriend w'"" y' 
people in y' north to procure me buisness, & endeavour to get 
y^ Consulage of these Islands from y'= Queen or Secrty for w'^'' 
I should be humbly obliged to you. I am overjoyed when 
receive of your letters and may depend shall not be negleftfull 
in answering y"" wishing we had frequent correspondence 
together as being ." 

[IV.] " Angra. 17 May. 171 1. Loveing Brother: James 
Ramsey : was favoured with yours 28 ffebruary being heartily 
sorry to hear of your bad Misfortunes : As to the Bond y' my 
Cousin made to you for those you had of my fFathers I am 
much obliged to you for your affedtionate service therein to 
me, I have writt to my Cousin particularly ab' it and to him 
I refer you. I have writt to Mad"" Rhett about y^ Papers 
concerning the house at Bristow but have not had any answer 
thereof: when write to her shall mention y" same a New. 
My Kind Love to my sister & Brother and my young Nephews 
heartily wishing you & y"" all health & Prosperity as 
being " 

[v.] "Angra, May 22. 171 1. To Antonio Perez. 

"... There arrived from Lisbon Capt Rhodes, no news 
from the North, at Lisbon they expe6t 52 English Men of 
Warr. Upon the frontiers there was a design to cut off all 
y^ English Army by a plott w'^^'' is y*^ Reason of y^ Men of 
Warr going to Lisbon, as soon as they arrive there may ex- 
pert further News." 



The Azores^ 1 706-1 71 8. 53 

[VI.] " August 30, 171 1," he congratulates Colonel Rhett 
on " your great success in your Guinea voyage and the good 
market you came to. ... I see ., . you design to goe on 
Building and make y' most advantage you can for my Interest 
of vi?' I have in your hands for w'^'' I am extreamly obliged to 
you and wholly leave every thing to your good Management 
and confirm by this to adt w' you please therein as if your ow^n 
but beg y' favour of you to dispose of no Lands nor houses 
but to the contrary wish I had more there for I have a long- 
ing mind ... to goe to Carolina ... to settle there, for 
where I am is no great place of trade and buisness very uncer- 
tain." He asks advice as to where he shall settle, — " being, 
thank God, fitt for any Part. . . . Our Trade here the securest 
is goods from Great Brittain as Bayes. . . . Drugetts, Serges, 
hatts, stockings wch constantly goes off well and sells at above 
Ct. per Ct. but when have it not from y"^ North generally get 
it from Lisbon and here we could easily naturlize any forreign 
ship a Portuguese to send to Brazeel, w*^*^ if I could gett a 
cargoe suitable there is great money to be gott . . . also 
could send them under Portuguese colours to Guinea . . . 
they should goe to Brazeel if could see any advantage but 
Negroes sells as well at Carolina as at Brazeel for there they 
never give above 1 50 C p. head at most for lusty Negroes and 
Boyes 40, 50, & 60 C according as they are. . . . My kind 
Love to Mad'" Rhett ; ... to her made bold to consign 
from ffayal ... a silk Gownd, pettycoat & Stomacher . . . 
w*^** be pleased to desire her to dispose of to my most advantage." 

[VII.] "Angra, Eoje 3^'' 8''^° 171 1. Mr Nicholas Oursel 
. . . see y' you and your good family goes to settle at Dublin. 
I heartily wish it may to the contentment of you & yours w''' 



54 'The Desce?tdants of Hugh Amory. 

all the blessings that this world can afford, ... I have sent 
some ventures to Brazeel &c and before can have y™ here will 
be about a twelve Month. ... I should be heartily glad to 
leave this Place, the sooner the better for I am tyred with it, 
but as y' I have no encouragement otherwayes and now warr 
time must have patience. I wish you would be pleased to 
propose something for our mutual advantage w*^^ I shall easily 
take up with w'^'^ may be well trusted to paper for I never 
knew any to open my Letters . . . not doubting of your 
affedlion towards me as I have for you & y" Rest of your good 
ifamily to whom pray present my humble Respects in General, 
Especially to Madm. Oursel & Miss Betty." 

[VIII.] May 13, 1 71 2, he repeats to Arthur Middleton 
what he has said to the Rhetts about Carolina and his land. 
Middleton has been successful in the business on which he 
went to London and has now returned home. 

In the summer of 171 2 eight sail of the line under 
Admiral Baker were sent to meet the Brazil fleet and go with 
it to Lisbon. While cruising off the Azores, waiting for the 
fleet, this squadron captured an unlucky French merchantman, 
bound from Marseilles to Canada, laden with wines, brandies, 
silks, and soap, a ship of over two hundred tons' burthen and 
twenty guns. After selling a small part of the cargo at Fayal, 
the Admiral brought his prize to Angra and sold it with all 
it contained for something over three thousand moidores to 
three merchants, William Fisher, Andrew White, and Thomas 
Amory, Fisher with his partner taking half. White and Amory 
each a quarter. The wine and brandy were " to sell well at 
the north or at Lisbon," and the management of this enter- 



The Azores^ 1706-1718. 55 

prise was intrusted to Amory who planned to go in the prize 
ship — he gives its name as the " Mercury Volante " — to Lis- 
bon, under convoy of the squadron. He " shipt aboard 
besides her cargoe to the value of several hundred mil reis in 
sugars & Terceira brandy & other Cargoe, being for Acft 6c 
Comp* 500 hhds of French wine, forty kegs of brandy, rine- 
stone IV ii Chests of Cales Soape having left on the Ac6t & 
Comp^ upwards of 3000 covoe at Terceira in silks." 

[IX., Angra, Sunday.] "Sept 18. 171 2. To Mr Henry 
Hughes [in command of the ' Mercury ']. If any bad weather 
should come up y' you were forced to Lisbon with the Men 
of Warr pray deliver w' you have on board for mv . . . ac6l 
wch is 2 Chests & a Half-Chest of Sugar, 7 pipes of Brandy, 
2 qr Casks of D° & 2 qr. Casks of Passado to Messrs Eyre & 
Watts, merchts at Lisbon, to dispose of to my best advantage 
as also w' ever else you have on board and take their Receipts 
for the same 6c discount with them for y^ Pipes of Brandy y* 
you owe me 6c 143! cov^ of Wine at 60 c. I do design 
please God to be aboard of you to morrow wherefore iff 
weather should permitt to send me your Boat ashoare y^ in 
case I write for fear you should be blown off with y^ Men of 
Warr whose company be sure not leave ; and if the weather 
was so bad y' you could not send your Boat ashoare to morrow 
do design to send all my things 6c self aboard of Captain Holt 
6c there continue till I gett aboard of you or meet you at Lis- 
bon. Am with best affection " 

On the Monday, the storm had come : the " Mercury " 
stood out to sea and sent no boat ashore. 



56 The Descendants of Hugh Ainory. 

Amory and White thought they might possibly reach the 
squadron where it lay off Prage, but on taking a boat thither 
on Tuesday they found the ships were too far out. White re- 
turned to Angra. The next morning a large ship appeared 
off the Road, and Amory supposing her to be the " Mercury," 
got a boat and went off, but could not reach her and was 
obliged to return. That same afternoon he learned that she 
was one of the Brazil fleet which had at last arrived at Angra. 
The news was brought by a Portuguese brigantine sent by the 
Angra Customs authorities to tell Admiral Baker. Not find- 
ing the Admiral at Prage, the brigantine was to look for him v 
till the next day, and then return to Angra. On this under- 
standing Amory went on board, but within twenty-four hours 
on Thursday the 22nd, the brigantine sighted a single sail, and 
lest it should mean the French, fled before the wind to St. 
Michael's. There lay a Portuguese vessel ready to sail for 
Lisbon, and Amory immediately took passage in her, but 
before he embarked she was wrecked in a storm, hard by 
Ponta Delgada, and for a fortnight or more no other chance 
offered. There was nothing to do but to write all about it 
to all his correspondents : the big letter-book has as many as 
ten letters in one day, filling thirteen closely written pages. 

[X.] . . . "There is great hopes of a Peace," he says in 
one, " more than ever, for the ffrench has delivered up Dun- 
kerke as a pledge to the English where they have put 15,000 
Men and by the first Pacquet from England they think it will be 
confirmed." To Admiral John Baker, " hope shall have [at 
Lisbon] y' honour to kiss hand and to wish you joy of your 
happy convoys, the fleet in safety to Lisbon being heartily 



The Azores^ 1706-1718. 57 

glad for your honour's sake y' you accomplished your desires 
after so great trouble you had." 

[XI.] To Mrs. Rhett he writes of his great disappoint- 
ment; he had hoped to realize enough by the voyage "to 
have a small matter to begin withal to remain in London;" 
has left of his own at Terceira, " all debts paid, nigh five 
thousand mil reis." At last in a Portuguese vessel he left St. 
Michael's with a passport from both the English Consul and 
the French. " We had a long passage from St, Michael's to 
Mazogan, making Saffee in 10 days & before we could 
get to Mazogan was 17 days continually in sight of land. We 
found we had war with Satfee which put me in a peck of 
trouble how to get to Faro where the ship was bound but 
thank God we had good weather at Mazogan being there 10 
days & from there to Faro. I should not have repented 
seeing Mazogan now that thank God I have escaped the 
dangers of the Saffees if I had not had always the Prize in my 
thoughts & wishing to get to her, for I had the pleasure 
upon the walls to see the Portuguese fight with the Moors & 
will assure you the Portuguese behaved very well. Never- 
theless there were none of them killed only two horses 
wounded for as soon as the Moors came under the reach of 
the great guns made off and stole away being all horsemen on 
extraordinarily fine horses. While I was there the Padua 
galley Capt John Headland a ship of 24 guns as she was sail- 
ing out for Madeira was cast away and they had much ado to 
save the lives two men being drowned, and the Moors con- 
tinually making their appearance. On the 6th got here. . . ." 

He found the " Mercury " at Lisbon waiting for him, but 



58 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

with part of her cargo lost by means of " a bad storm " during 
the voyage, "many casks being stove." As Protection in 
Portugal forbade the sale there of French wines and brandies 
it became necessary to try the Dutch market for what re- 
mained. After selling part of the other cargo, Amory took a 
freight of sugars for Amsterdam, with oranges and lemons for 
England, and sailed north. At Plymouth about the 2nd of 
January he sold the oranges and lemons and left the " Mercury" 
to continue her voyage while he went by land to London, 
stayed there six days, and going to Harwich crossed thence to 
Holland. He arrived at Amsterdam, February 7th, to find 
that [XII.] " a very great storm " had blown several ships 
" ashore at y" Texel, and among y^ Rest the Mercury whom 
broke all her 3 cables & like to be lost. . . . She was 
forced to be quite unloaded. . . . [This] has beene a great 
Disappointment & a great charge, here wines & Brandy 
are sould for little or nothing since the assessiation [cessation] 
of arms there went abundance of B[ritish] ships to all parts of 
France thinking that the duties of French wine & Brandys 
would have been taken off in Britaine w'^'" not happening many 
of them came here and about 4 ms. ago Brandies bearing here 
a good Price they sent from the Streight great quantities, as 
Naples, Cales etc the frost stopping them at the Texel as did 
the Mercuri w'^'' broke up about 3 weeks agoe and al acoming 
up here at one tyme made a great glutt that wines & 
brandies are sold here cheaper than in France & many of the 
ships that came from the Streights the merchants offered the 
Brandy for the freight." 

[XIII.] Amsterdam, April 16, 17 13. To Wm. Fisher, 
Andrew White 6c Francis Fisher, — After discussing how 



The Azores^ 1706-1718. 59 

best to employ the ship, since the wines have brought hardly 
enough to fit her out for a voyage to Brazil, he writes : 
" Tuesday last we had the news from Utrecht that the Peace 
was signed for Great Brittain, Holland, Portugal, Russia & 
Savoy. The Emperor having time till the middle of June 
next and since the Peace is Made there is not any body that 
will load in any English ship w'^'^ is a great misfortune to us 
again, believing we shall not gett above half freight and if the 
Peace had not happened should have been full yesterday being 
promised Goods enough before the Peace was made ; so are 
resolved to sail from here Wednesday next goods or no Goods 
and touch at Portsmouth to take in some goods of Mr Fr. 
Fisher's & see if we can get any more freight, & so to 
Lisbon, it happening also to several English ships here y' have 
taken freight for Leghorne &c . . . [They are] forced to goe 
. . . half loaden for since the Peace is signed several Dutch 
ships have put up for all parts of the Streights, Lisbon &c for 
\ of the Freight for what the English coent [covenant ?] for." 

In a pocket-book he sets down that William Fisher has 
"my Noate payable at Demand for 6284°"' 177 Reis," and 
per contra that he has left in the said Fisher's hands at Angra 
10710"°" 380 Reis; also "my Negroe Francis he has to keep 
for me ; a horse he owes me about 60 mil 000 ; and Two 
Negroe Women that are in the Widdow Courand's keeping." 
At Amsterdam he pays various sums to Captain Hughes, to 
" the Matte," to " the men that looked after the goods y' came 
in the lighters," to " the Brokersman," to *' the Dr," " the 
pilote" etc. "To wine with the Carpenter i shilling" — 
"To Boatage aboard i shilling 6c 4 pence." He buys "a 



6o The Descendants of Hugh Atnory. 

Perriwig " for ten shillings ; gives " the Dr. of the Mercury a 
months pay in advance 28 shillings " ; pays " the Taylor for 
mending of Cloaths jTg," and " for making of Cloaths in full 
>ri3;" — "my Sword mending _^i 6j-. o^/." At London he 
spends " for a certificate to ride post 5 shillings & 6 pence ; 
post horses from London to Portsmouth 74 miles at bd. per 
mile jTi lyj. ; my box of bookes bringing down 4/9." At 
Lisbon he had his watch mended, bought " oyl for the hair 
o : 480 " ; and paid the same price for a " Petition to the King 
about the Mercury." 

[XIV.] Writing to Oursel, March 17th, he regrets that he 
must for this time give up going to Ireland, he hopes to do it 
next year. In April he reports to his partners that the wines 
have been disposed of but at so low a rate that, after the great 
expenses in getting the Mercury mended and sheathed, there 
will be difficulty in fitting her out for a voyage. He is having 
her so thoroughly repaired, however, that she will be fit to go 
to Brazil or any other part, and " will not want anything these 
two years unless some accident happen to her which God for- 
bid . . . thought it most for our interest tio take a freight for 
Lisbon and there wait your orders either to take another 
freight at Lisbon or load with salt, touch at the Islands and so 
to Newfoundland." The salt was decided on, and in July 
1 7 1 3, after a ten days' voyage from Lisbon he landed in Terceira, 
and the " Mercury " proceeded north-westward to discharge 
her salt and take in fish at Newfoundland, where, however, 
" she did not do well." It was then planned to send her to 
Guinea and Brazil, but Amory sold his part in her for 800 c. 
and joined Fisher in ordering [XV.] "a small vessel" to be 



The Azores^ 1 706-1 71 8. 61 

built " at New England by Mr. Jaffreys at Piscataqua, Our 
wines do for there and now and then linen cloth, and their 
lumber does here, but for your place," he writes to Colonel 
Rhett, "our wines will not do, and only wheat for Madeira 
which is uncertain not always having the Licences. It is here 
your lumber, pitch, tar, train-oil, wax, masts, staves, a little of 
all and as much wax as you please, do very well. But if we 
have no wheat, wines not doing, am sorry that we cannot en- 
courage trade here direftly from Charleston. Next year please 
God we have a tolerable harvest for wheat you may depend I 
can get licences among some of the islands St Michael's, this 
... or Pico Flores to 100 tons if the vessel came the latter 
end of August to the end of October and this I could provide 
every year, for there are some Rents w*^** are sold w"^'' I could 
buy up that have the preference before others." . . . 

There were no licences to export wheat in this year 171 3. 
The harvest was so bad that at Angra, he says [XVI.] "if 
wheat were shipped the Poor would rise, and the same at St. 
Michael's." He speaks of an English ship that had been 
waiting for weeks at Angra to take her expedled wheat cargo. 
The vintage was still worse. Instead of 40,000 pipes of wine, 
the ordinary annual produce of the islands, the most to be 
hoped for was 6,000 pipes, " not enough for the people's own 
drinking and they will not therefore give licence for the ex- 
porting of wines," and no brandies will be made. In Odlober 
there was a great storm, by which out of twelve ships in the 
Road at Angra eight were lost. " Such a storm was never 
seen by the oldest man living, nor so bad a vintage." 
[XVII.] In November, telling a correspondent something of 



62 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

the " Mercury's " story, he adds : " But the Poor Jack design to 
send to Brazil, and please God hope so to bring up my losses." 
[XVIII.] To Bunratty he writes: "... Was very de- 
sirous to have seen you in London. I called at Mr Grahams 
and at your Lodging, they telling me before went to Holland 
that they expefted you daily, and when came from Holland 
called there again but had no news from you." 

After returning from the north he spent another six years 
at Angra. He was English and Dutch consul. There is no 
letter book for the three years from June, 1714. [XIX.] In 
July, 171 7, he says : " I have not any manner of News but y' 
all is quiet in Engld. and y' abt 40 sail of Men of Warr is gone 
up y^ Baltick against the Sweeds." He had now more than 
one correspondent in New England, and with Mr. George 
Jaffrey at Portsmouth he had " settled a trade from there 
here, We being concerned in a Pincke that goes back & 
forwd. generally twice a year." [XX.] He writes to Mr. 
Jaffrey : " Here is one Daniel Leary y* went saillor from here 
last voyage in y^ Pinke to New England he complains y' he 
was not paid and his Wages kept from him unjustly he says 
he was 4 months aboard at 50^. p. month reed only los. 
by a pair of Bootts he had be pleased to lett me know at 
large abt it being I have promised to our head Judge y' he 
should be paid if there was no just reason to y° contrary; for 
w'^'' be pleased to give me yr. orders," 

[XXL] "Angra aa"'' July 171 8. To John Whitton. 

.... As to Capt" Newton's from China, for my part I 
have not any Money nor Mr Bold nor I dont find any here 
has any Money to lay out in China silks & wares ... its 



The Azores^ 1706-1718. 



63 



w* sells slowly & A long time before can see their Money 
again y' none will take up with it. ... I went to make a 
Vizett to the Redor of the Colledge y' came fro ffayal w'*' 
Mr Bold but he happened to be out in y" Country shall take 
An oppertunity to wait on him for truly the Jesuites in 
General are my particular friends." 



mm 




wm 





CHAPTER VII. 

South Carolina, 17 18-1723. 

JMORY was brought at last to the point of leaving 
the islands by a proposal from Colonel and Mrs. 
Rhett that he should marry their daughter Sarah 
if he could obtain her consent after coming to 
Charleston to ask it. They had made the offer in 171 3, 
withholding the " Young Gentlewoman's " name, and he had 
accepted it, [XXII.] desiring them to marry him to her by 
proxy, " wch I do oblige myself by this to stand to, wch is 
common here among the Roman Catholics to marry so 6c 
their Wives to come to them. ... If you could any wayes 
perswade her to come I should be heartily glad of it. ... I 
dont desire y' anything of her fortune should be sent with her 
no further than her wearing apparel and a maid to accompany 
her, lett cost what it will to put her ashore here or at ffayal. 
. . . When she is here and dont likeing she need not doubt 
but I settle all my buisness so to goe off where she pleases in 
the 2^ years." He received no answer to this, nor any news 
from Carolina for four or five years. He was, as he writes to 
Arthur Middleton, [XXIII.] "all together in the dark & 



South Carolina^ 171 8- 1723. 65 

know not w' I have there for I have given her a particular 
order not to dispose of any Lands or houses for I have a 
longing mind to make a trip there. Your advice thereon 
would give much encouragement. . . . One thing has been 
something backward thereto being we have heard of the 
Indians doing a great deal of Mischief & murdering many- 
families but sense all is quiet I should be heartily glad to 
hear y' you & all your good family came to no hurt nor 
damage." 

In September, 171 8, he heard from Mrs. Rhett who the 
" Young Gentlewoman " was, and that " 'tis in Vain to pro- 
pose anything at a distance. She . . . must be convinced 
by reason & conversation that the person she marrys will 
make her happy. . . . We have given her a very good 
Education, Viz' Writing, Arithmetick, French, Musick, 
Dancing &c. As to her Person I can't say she is a celebrated 
Beauty, but she is a very agreeable young Woman of Great 
Modesty, agreeable Humor & Good Sense. I am of opinion 
if you come to Carolina in a reasonable time you may find 
her unmarryed. My husband proposes to make her fortune 
^Taooo & must say if providence should so order it we should 
be pleased to have her match'd to one we Esteem as we do 
you." 

[XXIV.] " I have been assured," is Thomas's comment 
(as he writes the story to his cousin, with a copy of the above 
letter), "by several that have seen her to be a very comely 
and Ingenious young woman and Colonel Rhett to be rich." 
He forthwith resigned his consulship, arranged his affairs, and 

K 



66 The Descendants of Hugh Aj/iory. 

the next summer sailed from Terceira to Boston, a " 39 dayes " 
voyage, landing July 13th (New Style), 17 19. 

He found letters from Arthur Middleton,^^^ praising Miss 
Rhett as "very good Humer'd, Ingenious & discreet, & if it 
shall be your good fortune to gain her. She will make you 
very happy, & I doubt not of the Same on your Part to her, 
... I believe Coll° & Mrs Rhett are very much for it, at 
lest they tell me so, & will do you all the Servis they can. . . . 
Your Sister & my Selfe are very much for it . . . we shall 
be glad of having you with us, & if it will Sute with your 
Interest to settle amongst us this is what we have long desir'd. 
. . . When please God you are here you will better know what 
to have sent you & what you may have in other parts. If 
you bring any Gold or Silver with you to N: England, more 
or less, let me advise you to bring it with you, for here you 
may have it to great advantage./ Lett me now as I have in 
my former Letter advise you to fitt your Selfe well in Boston 
with Cloathes & Linnen, Gentele & well made, & a Gentele 
Sword, for these things are at high rates here. I would have 
you make as good an appearance amongst us as you can. It 
will be to your advantage & tis for that reason that I advise 
you to it & by the By, I believe it will please the Lady for 
she is very Gentele & briske but very Modest with all./ If 
you bringe your Negroes with you to Boston I advise you to 
bring them with you here for they will be of use if you come 
to be a Housekeeper with us. Here is one Hudson here that 
was some time ago in your Island, & he tells me you had 
thoughts of bringing your Negroes with you. Your Island 
Linin will also turne to good ac' if you can bring it with 



South Carolina^ 171 8- 1723. 67 

Safety. . . . Your Sister & the Children give their Dear Love 

to you, (Sc I desire you will Accept the Same from 

" Your Loveing Brother 

" & Most Humble Serv' 

"Ar: Middleton." 
[Outside :] " To 

Mr Tho: Amory, Merch^ 

to be delivered to him when 

he arrives at Boston 

In New England 

These." 

The seal on this letter indicates no colours, but shows the 
shield fretty, a canton in the dexter chief. The crest is less 
distina, but may very well also be the winged sheaf of the 
Middletons of Stockeld. 

Colonel Rhett writes ^^''—in a hand particularly large, 
clear and frank-looking : 

" " South Carolina, May the 26, 17 19. 

o 

" Yo'- Letter by way of Boston of the 2"'' Mar. past we 
reed & observe the contents. As to what you write Relating 
to yo ordering of Linings here it will be verry Improper for 
as I am the Principall Officer of His Majesty's Customes we 
can noe ways Dispence with the Importation of any Forreign 
Linnens they being prohibited by our Laws of Trade & con- 
sequently Inconsistent with my oaths & Duty to permitt any 
such Trade. Tho I believe it is Praftised by others. There- 
fore you had better Dispose of them att New England for I 
have nothing to Doe w"^ what is done there. But as you 



68 The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 

have been a Faftor a long time among the western Islands I 
think it would be hard to Debarr you from Bringing what 
Linnen is necessary for yo'' own household use as Table 
Cloaths, Napkins, Sheets &c for they are much wanted here 
& not to be had. Therefore I shall Dispence w'*^ what you 
bring or send here for yr own service but however what you 
Doe that way Lett it be as Private as Possible, 

"Yo"" Brother & sister Middleton are Both well I came 
from Thence Last weeke he gave me his company to visitt 
a Plantation of mine abo' 20 miles from his we had the 
Oppertunity of Discoursing verry Largely upon yo'' affaires. 
. . . Have Promised Captain Middleton when Please God 
you arrive here (if you approve it) to Joyne you in Partnership 



w 



th 



my Son who is well settled to carry on Commission 
Business. . . . 

" For as y'' Good Father & Mother Intrusted me with all 
their affaires nott only their Estate but the Care of their 
Children, So I think it is my Indispensable Duty to continue 
to serve you w^^ I shall do w'*^ the same Justice & Affe6tion 
as if you was my owne Son. ... I a Shure you Deare S'', 
Nothing is or shall be wanting In my Wife & Selfe to Pro- 
mote a Union in our Famillys but of that I can say no more 
then that I heartily Desire it But as my wife wrote you all 
persons must chuse for themselves." 

[Outside :] " To be left with the Hon, Jonathan Belcher, 
Merch'." 

[XXV.] To Arthur Middleton Thomas wrote July 6th : 
♦' I find Col. Rhett & Madam Rhett are very sincere & 
mightily for it w*^^ is a great stepp to it. As to the providing 



South Carolina^ 1718-1723. 69 

my self here with all necessaries to make a good appearance 
there, may depend shall do it, and I know it is necessary for 
w*^^ Effe(5l have cutt off my own hair since have been at 
Boston, and have writt to Coll. Rhett . . . hoping ... to 
be with you by the month of Oftober for it is necessary to 
tarry here a small time to make friends & prepare cloathg & 
Linnen. As to my Negroe women have left them at Terceira 
being I had no conveniency of brings them over but can soon 
order them for Carolina. I brought two blacks, a Boy my 
Slave whom Ille send by this conveyance if possible I can gett 
his cloaths finished the other is a lusty Man, ffree by reason 
of his honesty and goodness I brought him with mee. . . . 
Wee have Information here that you are again afraid of an 
Indian warr for my Part I cant putt it in my thoughts that 
they can do yo any General Prejudice if so I should think it 
would be convenient to have Effects secure in other Parts and 
am something in the mind to lay out some money out in land 
. . . would look out some part in this Country y' I thought 
convenient for trade for here it is cheap at this time & ready 
money very temptg." 

July 8th he consigns to Colonel Rhett " a boy ab* twelve 
years of Age my slave," and encloses " the Bill of Laden," 
which bill testifies to his having shipped to Charleston, by 
Captain Davis, " my black boy by name John." — " I have had 
him," he tells Colonel Rhett, " about 5 years, he does not 
speak English but very good Portuguese and a sharp Boy that 
I have a kindness for him therefore desire you would keep 
him in your dwellinghouse till my arrival. ... I have a 
couple of Black Women I left at Terceira y' are extraordinary 
good whom I had to govern my house there . . . whom I 



70 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

could not bring now being had no conveniency in the Sloop 
& too troublesome to carry round about." 

After a business journey to Portsmouth and Piscataqua, 
and much activity in extending his acquaintance with the 
Boston merchants, he sailed for Carolina on September i6th, 
sending the "Bacchus" before him with a load of lumber and 
cod. [XXA'^I.] " If you find that I am taken by the Spaniards 
w'^'' God forbid," he says to Colonel Rhett, " and that I am 
not likely to gett to your Place in 6 or 8 months time . . . 
desire & impower you to dispose of the said Pincke Bacchus 
to my best advantage." He was still happy in the refledlion 
[XXVII.] that "Coll. Rhett is one of the Chiefest there both 
in Place & Rich withall and do keep their Coach living the 
best of any in the Place. . . . Arthur Middleton is one of 
the richest also." 

He remained at Charleston until the next spring, returning 
then by a sixteen days' voyage to Boston, touching [XXVIII.] 
at " Martha's Vineyard where we stayed two dayes. . . . 
Have a letter," he tells Mr. Middleton, "from my Cousin 
Thomas Amory ... do design to write him at large be- 
lieving y' he designs to make me his heir for there is none of 
my name younger than myself, & he does not design to 
marry. . . . Love to my Sister, my Godson & Master Harry." 

[XXIX.] It is in the letter to Bunratty that his return 
from Charleston is explained. His cousin had announced ^^^ 
that " All your relations here are very desirous to hear of 
your being marryed and that you were removed from that 
Island where there are so few of y' own Religion. . . . Your 



South Carolina^ 171 8-1723. 71 

aunt Hoskins dyed suddenly tother day of an apoplexy, God 
Almighty prepare us all for our latter End." Thomas replies 
from Boston, " 16 June 1720. . . . Am sorry to hear of the 
Death of my Aunt Hoskins, tho unknown for I am altogether 
a stranger w' relations I have, shall be glad if you'l please to 
give me an Ace' of them and where they live, especially my 
Uncle John Amory if he is living or not, for I have not seen 
anybody that has been at Gallwey these several years. . . . 
At my arrival in Carolina was kindly reed into Col Rhett's 
family and lived in his house six months. The young Gentle- 
woman not being marryed but she promised herself to a 
Gentleman y* was at Jamaico whom her ffather & Mother 
would by noe Meanes she shall marry designing not to give 
her any thing if she marrys him. She is a deserving young 
woman about 24 years old, but finding she was engaged, she 
declaring to me the wholle truth of the matter, occasioned 
my not having affed:ion for her, but her Mother & Father 
would have her cast off her old Lover to persuade her to have 
me being very much dissatisfyed with her, but I knowing how 
matters ran had noe thoughts of marriage, then she offerd 
me another Daughter about 15 to 16 years, a Pretty Young 
Woman but I did so much dislike the Country by the un- 
healthfulness of the Place, the fFear they have of an Indian 
warr, the riseing of their Negroes, and the fear of y^ Spaniards 
coming to take the Place w^'' they expedted daily all the time 
I was there, they being continually under arms, w*^*^ makes 
them very uneasie, for y^ Spaniards did come out as far as 
Providence & return'd back and y^ Negroes did rise while 
was there but they did not gett ahead & was soon supprest 
w^** I dont doubt you have seen in the News Papers. . . . 



72 'The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 

Another thing when we have a ffrench Warr theyl be in a 
continual feare from Mobile & Mississippi y' ballancing all 
things could not reconcile myself to the Place. I should have 
shortened my days & not have my health for thank God 
hitherto never was sick nor no manner of ailing. . . . Thank 
God I have a small matter of my own to live genteel where 
with good improvement & my hopes of having business from 
a Broad I dont doubt please God but to doe very well, de- 
signing to settle here (if can bare the winter) for this is a very 
good Place & people live very hansomely without fear of any 
thing & if do find a good offer shall marry w^*^ I perceive in 
yours you are very desirous of it . . . here is choice of 
hansom Women but they have but little fortunes and mine 
but little wont do well together so shall wait to see how my 
affairs go. . . . While I was in Coll Rhett's house endeavourd 
to gett an Ace' from Mad"" Rhett of w' my ffather left me & 
how my affairs stood w'^'^ she would not do but just gave me 
an Eye of her Ace' book So drew it out as well as I could & 
showed me some of my ffather's Papers w"^** as soon as I gott 
them into my hands left the house and took y" away with me 
& would not deliver y™ up any more to her. . . . Among 
them I reed the Papers y' belongs to my sister Ramsey of 
\ house at Bristol y' belongs to her w*^** I have left in Mr 
Middleton's hands to be sent to her at demand." 

Here he tells at great length how Mrs. Rhett had taken 
advantage of her position of trust to acquire for herself most 
of his inheritance. It must be remembered that the present 
Rhetts of Charleston do not inherit this name, but chose to 
adopt it about fifty years ago when it had long died out. It 



South Carolina^ 171 8- 1723. 73 

is permissible therefore to treat the Colonel and his wife 
merely as historical personages. Mrs. Rhett had intended 
to make amends to Thomas Amory by the marriage with her 
daughter. " She'l repent of ever sending for me to Carolina," 
he writes, " for if I had not gone there, should never have 
known w' I had there, & would have put me off with just 
nothing. . . . All the whole country is sensible of the in- 
justice she has a mind to do me for my ffather was very well 
beloved there y' although it is 20 years since his death they 
speak very affectionately of him w' a good man he was, w'^'' T 
was mightily pleased with, y' the People is much more for 
me than for Col. Rhett's family. . . . Mr Arthur Middleton 
y' is marryed to my sister was a schoolfellow w'"^ me when I 
was at Carolina, he is a sensible Man & one of the Richest 
in the Country, upwards of 100 negroes, besides he has about 
3 to 400 Ls sterling a year in England. My sister has had 
8 children, only three Boyes alive, one was born while I was 
there to whom I stood godfather, one in Engld abt. 12 years 
of Aige at Wansor School, and another about 2 years old : 
they live very Genteel and very happily together w*"*^ is a 
great satisfaction to me to see she is so well provided for and 
is an Ingenious Woman." [XXX.] To Stephen Godin, June 
20th, he remarks : " W my ffather left me . . . was upwards 
of One Thousand Pounds as money went 20 years ago." 

Thomas had left a power of attorney with Mr. Middleton,'^- 
Mr. Robert Howe, and two other merchants, to bring a suit 
in his name in the Carolina courts, and if defeated there 
" desire you would appeal for England being there do expedl 
to get Justice." The affair was long delayed, being com- 
plicated with a political revolution, which had taken place 

L 



7+ The Descenda?its of Hugh Amory. 

while he was in Charleston, although his letters make no 
mention of it. Arthur Middleton headed the party formed 
to overthrow the Proprietary Government and to make South 
Carolina a Crown Colony. The Proprietors had lost more and 
more such hold as had ever been theirs on the loyalty of their 
restless province. The final break is traced to one or another 
of many causes, but part of every cause seems to be Nicholas 
Trott, the ambitious London lawyer, who had come to the 
colony in 1697 as the special favourite of the Lords Pro- 
prietors, had promptly thrown them over to become the idol 
of the people, and after a time reverted to his first patrons, 
who accepted him readily at a high salary. He was made 
Chief Justice and Judge of the Provincial Court of Vice- 
Admiralty. His brother-in-law Rhett — Rhett's son had 
married Trott's daughter — was appointed Receiver-General 
as well as Comptroller of the Customs, and was otherwise of 
importance, being Colonel of the militia and having more 
than once saved the city in imminent peril. Colonel Rhett' 
had driven off five French and Spanish privateers at a time 
from the harbour, and in 17 18, when there were fifteen 
hundred pirates along the American coast, he had given their 
horrible trade its fatal blow by capturing the notorious Stede 
Bonnet and his crew. As agent for the Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel, Rhett dispensed gifts to the clergy 
of the colony ; and on his own account he presented plate to 
the new St. Philip's Church. He and Trott gained immense 
influence over eledlions to the Assembly. An Adl which the 
people much desired, to regulate such elections, was strenuously 
opposed by the pair, and even after its passage was repealed 
by the Proprietors at their instance. The province was in 



South Carolina^ 171 8- 1723. 75 

serious financial difficulty. The Yamassee Indians, allies of 
the English throughout the war of the Spanish Succession, 
had soon after been turned against them by the Government 
of St. Augustine. The massacre of ninety English at Poco- 
taligo in 171 5 opened a war which destroyed almost the 
whole Yamassee tribe, cost the lives of four hundred Caro- 
linians, and left the colony burdened with debt. To discharge 
this the Assemby laid a tariff upon imports and proposed to 
raise money by selling the Yamassee lands to settlers. Neither 
of these measures would the Proprietors allow. They claimed 
the lands as their own and vetoed the tariff Ad:. In De- 
cember, 17 1 8, another war beginning between England and 
Spain, a Spanish attack on Charleston was threatened, and 
Governor Johnson required money for the defence. The 
Assembly proposed to disregard the veto and colled: revenue 
under the Ad, but Trott as Chief Justice protested that such 
colledion was illegal, and that the Courts would not enforce it. 
As he himself by this time constituted pradically all the Courts 
and acknowledged no superior but the Proprietors, his protest 
was an effedive bar. On this, thirty-one articles of complaint 
against him were drawn up and sent by the Governor, Council, 
and Assembly to the Proprietors. It was herein affirmed that 
he had " been guilty of many partial judgments . . . con- 
trived many ways to multiply and increase his fees to the 
great grievance of the subjed and contrary to Ads of As- 
sembly ; . . . had contrived a fee for continuing causes from 
one term to another, and put off the hearing of them for 
years ; . . . took upon him to give advice in causes pending 
in his Courts . . . and . . . had also drawn deeds between 
party and party some of which had been contested before 



76 The Descendants of Hugh A?nory. 

him as Chief Justice, in determining of which he had shown 
great partialities. . . . The whole judicial power of the 
province was lodged in his hands alone, of which it was 
evident he had made a very ill use, he being at the same 
time sole Judge of the Courts of Common Pleas, King's 
Bench, and Vice Admiralty, so that no prohibition could be 
lodged against the proceedings of the Court, he being obliged 
in such a case to grant a prohibition against himself. He 
was also at the same time a member of the Council and of 
consequence a Judge of the Court of Chancery." The reply 
of the Lords Proprietors to all this consisted in sending Trott 
a letter of thanks for one of his recent speeches, only diredling 
him to leave the Council-board during the hearing of appeals 
there from the inferior Courts. At the same time they dis- 
missed the Council, nominated a new one which still included 
Trott, and ordered the election of a new Assembly. The 
bond so strained suddenly snapped. The Colony refle6led 
that Trott's one superior authority was itself subject to the 
Crown. 

Complaint to the King, indeed, had already been made. 
His Majesty had received in 1717 an address ^"^ signed by the 
Speaker and Commons setting forth their troubles from Indian 
depredations and the Proprietors' unkindness. Among the signa- 
tures are the names of Thomas Middleton, James Wilson, Francis 
Holmes, senior, Francis Holmes, junior, Roger Moore, William 
Holmes, John Croskeys, Joseph Croskeys, Robert ffreman, etc. 
In the same bundle of State Papers with this is one — I have not 
its exaft date — accusing Colonel Rhett ^-^ of having, while he 
was Colledlor of the Port of Charleston, sold arms to the Spanish 
pirates and landed his return cargo without paying duties, 



South Carolina^ 171 8- 1723. 77 

defending himself with the plea that Captain Hildersley had 
done it all, against his orders. The influence of Rhett and 
that of the Chief Justice sank together. The election was 
held, but not one man of their choice gained a seat. The 
new members met privately out of town, and, with the secretly 
conveyed assent of almost the whole country, formed them- 
selves into a revolutionary convention with Arthur Middleton 
for president. When Governor Johnson called the Assembly 
to its first meeting it came, but its address to the Governor,^-^ 
spoken by Mr. Middleton, was not in the usual form. " I 
am ordered," said Mr. Middleton, " by the representatives of 
the People here present to tell you that according to your 
honour's order we are come to wait on you : I am further 
ordered to acquaint you that we own your honour as our 
governor, you being approved by the King ; and as there was 
once in this province a legal council, representing the Pro- 
prietors as their deputies, which being we do not look on the 
gentlemen present as a legal council : so I am ordered to tell 
you that the representatives of the people do disown them and 
will not a6l with them on any account." It is said that the 
Governor attempted to take Trott's advice at this jundlure in 
order to have him responsible for what would follow, but 
Trott and Rhett contrived to hold aloof in silence until events 
should show them a safe course. The Convention offered 
Governor Johnson the post of Governor under the King. He 
refused the offer without power to resent the insult, since the 
militia had joined the revolution, and even Rhett, when " the 
bold and turbulent " James Moore was set up as Governor, 
accepted from him his commission as Colonel. By this step 
Colonel Rhett regained popular favour. He was continued 



yS 'The Descendants of Hugh Atnory. 

in his offices and made inspeftor-general of the fortifications 
besides. At the same time he wrote to assure the Proprietors 
that his submission to Moore was only that he might have 
better opportunities to converse with the people and persuade 
them to return to their allegiance. To which the Lords 
Proprietors answered that they were " not a little pleased " 
and wished him all imaginable success. Trott was for the 
moment less fortunate. He planned, indeed, a visit to Eng- 
land to renew his influence with their lordships as before, and 
proposed that the expense of it should be shared by Governor 
Johnson in return for having the Proprietors persuaded to 
keep him in office, but Johnson, very sensibly, declined. The 
provisional government maintained itself for a year and a half 
waiting for the Crown's acceptance of its work. It even, in- 
secure as it was, made an effort to oust Rhett from the 
Comptrollership of Customs (its letters to London mention 
him casually as " that enemy to his country and detestable 
reviler of mankind "), but in this it did not succeed. Possibly 
he had something to do with a last effort made to re-establish 
the Proprietary Governor, even when the Royal one's arrival 
was daily expefted. The " Flamborough " was a ship of the 
royal navy stationed at Charleston : how her Commander 
happened to lead in this attempt is not explained. We have 
the story from an ancestor of our own, Francis Holmes, 
writing ^^^ to his wife at Boston : 

"South Carolina, May 17. 1721. 

" My Dear Holmes 

" My afaires have bin so encumbered that obloiedges 
me to stay from you & my deer Children for whose good I 



South Carolina^ 1718-1723. 79 

am concarned. this poor country for want of a settled govern- 
ment tis very often at the Brink of rowen. Cap Hildesley 
Comandar of y^ flamborough Is of so proud and Insolant a 
Tempar that Hee cant perswade him Selfe but that Hee 
should Bee Gouarnar the Last week was a dismal Time evary 
man of sobstance In this Town lookt upon them selves entirely 
ruend upon the arival of the fenex Cap' Peare Comandar from 
his trading voyeg to several! of the Spanish ports & in the 
West Indies, by the parsuasion of the Capt of the Flam- 
borough joyned with Mr Jonson the formar Gouarnar under 
the Lords proprietors who came at the Hed of a parcell of 
Saylars to demand His Government the people beelng aprized 
that their Capton promised them three days plundering of the 
Town got to arms & in a short Time by the prudence & 
stedy Tempar of Governar Moore and his Councell ware 
shamfully disgraced. However they are continually cabaling 
so as to make the people uneasy a few days agoe Hildesley 
would have bin tore to peeses by the moltitude ware it not 
for Gover. Moore & Mr Loyd a Gentleman who is one of his 
Councell, who putt them selves in Jepardy By so doing wee 
are dayly expedling General Nicolson & God in marcy will 
wee hope restore us. I have sent the Jornall of all the pro- 
ceedings which is the shortar and moderat and nothing en- 
sarted but what is fackt. I desire you will advise with a 
friend how to get them printed & for their encouragement if 
thay will send mee fifty copyes I will sell them for them here. 
You are to send one of them to Mr William Jeffreys in Bristol 
By order of Mr Charles Hill. Give Mr Campbell the ofor 
of them, if Hee refuses send to Mr Eliot & let them Bee as 
speedy as possible their are many things omitted that are very 



8o The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

agravating & the Jurnall is writt with the greatest moderation. 
Bee sure dont Let it goe out of your Hands till the printer 
sees it I fear I shall loos my opportunity, the Sloop Being under 
sayll must conclude with my harty wel wishes yours wilst Life 

" FFRANCis Holmes," 

Five days after the date of this letter, Sir Francis Nicholson 
(who had ruled New York over thirty years before as deputy 
to Sir Edmund Andros) landed in Charleston, and South Caro- 
lina came under the immediate authority of the King. " Our 
new Govern'' is arrived & is a brave old Genl : man," Arthur 
Middleton writes ^^* to Thomas Amory, June 9th, 1721, "so 
that I have reason now to believe that our Country will be sett 
on a good foundation of Govern' : & Every Easey & Secure in 
theire Estates, no body is to be cald to an acc^t for the late 
revolution but Every thing goes on as if no such thing had 
Ever bin, my Selfe & other principle men of the country are 
in the King's Councill. 

" I have as yett done nothing with M''™ Rhett but shall 
begin now in a little time but I expedl your answer whether 
you will sue her for the money due to you & the Interest 
or for the Land that she sold. The first will be ended here 
but the other I believe must go to England by appeal either 
from you or her, so that if you resolve to carry it to Eng- 
land you must have money there, & a friend to carry it on, 
which Every body tells me will be very chargeable, & hardly 
worth while, so pray let me know your resolution about 
the one or the other, I am very well satisfyed I may re- 
cover the money to your satisfailion but the other will be 
doubtful." 



South Carolina^ 171 8- 1723. 81 

[XXXL] "Boston, 17 Aug. 1721. To Ar: Middleton. 
... I am heartily glad to hear you are all so well contented 
with your new Gouvernor & everything to goe on so regularly, 
no doubt the King's takeing so much notice of the Country 
will be a great preservation of it in case of warr y' I am of 
opinion you run little or no danger if there was a warr with 
ffrance & Spain w''*' is to be suspe6ted will be when the Young 
King of ffrance comes to the throne. I heartily wish you joy 
of your being Presid' of the Council & y' great esteem y' 
Gouv'' has for you of w'^'' I am very well assured by several 
y' comes from there. . . . Remember me kindly to Mr Howe 
& all the Gentlemen at Goosecreek Sec wishing them joy of 
that their undertakings abt the Gouvernment there has suc- 
ceeded to their desires & satisfaftion." 

It seemed now that the way was open for the lawsuit, but 
just at this time Mrs. Middleton fell ill, and her death in the 
autumn was so great a blow to her husband that he did not 
even write to her brother of it until the following March. 
" I have not for some months past," he then says,^^^ " bin able 
to do anything in your affair with Mrs Rhett, by reason of the 
great disorder I have bin under for the loss of so good a wife 
but a few dayes since I spoke to Mr Trott of your affair & 
laid before him your demand on her of the Principle and 
Interest Money, not taking any Notice to him of your Suing 
for the land & he assured me that he would make her comply 
with your demand on her as above & we are to have a meeting 
to settle the ace' of Principle & Interest as near as we can to 
Justice & reason, as soon as that is done I will send you an 
Ac' of it and what It comes to & then I am in hopes 
that you will thinke it adviseable to Dropp the Suete at 

M 



82 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Law against the Land, which I am sure will be very trouble- 
some." 

On this Thomas made the obvious remark : [XXXIL] 
" Mr Trott I do take to be Coll. Rhett's family's Particular 
friend & yrs & my Enemy for he never would be persuaded 
& y' fFamily but y' you were y^ only Pson y' gott him out of 
his Place & rejoyced with hopes he expe6led on y" Change 
of Government to revenge himself, 6c w'^^ they would do if 
ever it lay in their power, w*^'' you may depend he 1 never 
forgett if Ever it layes in his Power w*^** God forbid it should. 
And you '1 find w' he is a contriving ab' my affair is all 
together for Mad"" Rhett's Interest to putt off time experts 
things to change & she between whiles will putt off giving an 
Ace' from year to year & goe on baffling without you sue her 
forthwith, therefore I humbly crave the favour of you to loose 
no further time . . . she is so deceitfull. 

"... Here annexed do send you y^ Boston News Paper of 
forreign & Domestick . . . this paper y' best y' now comes 
out, but if have a mind for any other be pleased to advise me." 

An entry in his accounts at this time shows that he sub- 
scribed for the New England Courant,^^*^ lately begun by 
Benjamin Franklin's brother and master. Boston had only two 
other papers. 

"So. Carolina. April ye i6. 1722.^^^ [Endorsed :] reed the 
22 May & answerd the 28 May. 

Br : Amory 

The last I wrote to you was by your Brother Homes 
In which I gave you an ac' of y^ great loss and afflidlion I lay 
under for the loss of my dear wife your Sister : Since which 



- South Carolina^ 171 8- 1723. 83 

there is nothing new In my family ; we are all in good health 
as I hope this will find you. The occasion of my writing this 
is that since the receipt of yours Capt Palmer, J. Rhett's 
Schooner, is arrived here & tells me that when he left Boston 
you told him that you would be in Carrolina In a very little 
time & that I might Expeft you in this month of Aprill upon 
which I stopt proceeding with Mrs Rhett till I could hear 
further from you. I wish you could be here for three or four 
months in the summer to putt the wheels a going & then 
Every thing afterwards will be Easey therefore pray lett me 
know from you & your last Resolution about the land : Trott 
tells me he can bring her to reason & if we can gett what is 
your real due In Money I leve it to you to give me your last 
resolution but I wish you could be here for a little time, for 
to tell you y" truth. Mess" Godin & Conseillere are of little 
or no help to me in your affair, Rhett being a Custom House 
officer they are in some fear of him, as one of them Hinted to 
me very lately, 6c I assure you that my own trouble 6c 
affliction in my family has hindered me very much but as 
soon as I hear from you I will do all'I can. . . . Your two 
nephews Harry 6c Tom give their duty to you 6c their aunt. . . . 

" Ar : MiDDLETON " 

[XXXIII.] "Boston May 28. 1722. To Arthur Middleton. 
. . . favourd with your esteemed 16 Past, observing you put 
off going to Law. . . . expefting me there by w*^ Capt Palmer 
told you. I cant but think it was Coll. Rhett's family advised 
him to tell you so for to stop your proceedings expeftg change 
of Gouvernment as have hinted to you in my last. For I 
never did say a word to Capt Palmer about going to Carolina 



84 The Descefidants of Hugh Amory. 

to y*^ contrary for my buisness wont pmitt me therefore do still 
continue to beg y'^ favour of you to lose no farther time & 
begin the Lawsuit with her forthwith, especially y' now Gov 
Nicholson is there whom has the chara6ter of a very honest 
Gentleman & will have justice done. Supposg she does offer 
you a satisfadlory Acd; w'^ Interest & offers to pay y" money 
without yr suing her first (w'^'' I very much doubt for shel 
only give promises for delays of time) I say y' if so you may 
receive the Money from her due to me but not for my Lands 
for ... I will have a Lawsuit with her at Carolina for y^ 
Lands & according to y° Lawyers opinions here shall carry it 
to Engld or take w' they give me by Law there for we have 
very good Lawyers here to take advise of." 

" I take notice," says Middleton in reply, July 26th,^^" 
" what you say to me about Mr Trott. I shall have nothing 
more to say to him & sett him at defyance." 

Messrs. Godin and Co. write from Charleston, May 25th, 
1722:^^^ ... "As to Mrs Rhett's affaire wee have drawne 
the ac6l of the >C548: i"] : '^\ due to you upon Ballance to 
which have added the Interest from y' 12**^ April 1707 makes 
in y" whole ^1378 „6„ 6 next week that Mr Allein our 
Lawyer comes to Towne shall commence a Suite against her 
at Common Law for y' money 6c likewise endeavour in 
Chancery to gett allowance for the difference of the money if 
wee can succeed therein it will am° to a considerable sum of 
money as may make amends for the Point they now live at 
•vych yQ^ Lay claime. ... As to disposeing of yo' land for Boston 
Money believe 'tis difficult, wee might gett a better price to 
sell here. ... As to the uncertainty of the value of our 
money 'tis likely to grow better rather than worse." 



South Carolina^ 1718-1723. 85 

Towards the end of 1722 Colonel Rhett died suddenly 
when on the point oF leaving Carolina to be Governor of the 
Bahamas. I am unable to verify what seems to be the tradi- 
tion at Charleston,^'^* that Thomas Amory's case came after 
this to be tried by Judge Trott, was decided against the plaintiff, 
and thereupon carried before the higher court in England, 
which annulled the decision on the ground that the Judge 
when he gave it was engaged to the defendant and had since 
married her. These particulars cannot be proved from the 
letter-books, where by June, 1723, Thomas Amory sends a 
discharge to Mrs. Rhett " on all Demands w^soever." A few 
months later [XXXIV.] he says : " I perceive by Mad™ Rhett's 
Ac(5t. she dont credit me for a Silk Gownd, Pettycoat and 
Stomager I sent to her for my Ac(ft from ffayal w^i^ she 
acknowledged to receive, desireing you will gett payment of 
her if you can." He had at any rate recovered a good number 
of town-lots in Charleston, which he sells in turn at prices 
more or less satisfactory, as the state of the currency allows. 

This currency question was a real danger to South Carolina 
and made Mr. Middleton's position a difficult one. As 
President of the Council, Middleton was prad:ically Governor 
for five or six years, for Sir Francis Nicholson went home after 
a year, and his successor did not arrive in the colony until 
1730. Nicholson had been lavish of his private funds in aid of 
public objedls. Mr. Middleton was said to show less gener- 
osity, but the worse offence seems to have been his anxiety to 
fulfil, as he understood them, those duties towards the Crown 
which, under his own guidance, the colony had chosen to 
adopt. Colonel Rhett, who is said to have remarked in 1719: 
" If this revolt is not cropt in the bud they will set up for 



86 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

themselves against the King" — had perhaps understood the 
drift of the revolution better than its leader. The colonists 
had praftical ends to serve with which a spirit of abstract 
loyalty was not always at one. Middleton and his Council 
opposed, on the ground that it contravened an A6t of Queen 
Anne's reign, the Assembly's bill to promote a currency of gold 
and silver. The Assembly refused to vote the supply unless 
this veto was withdrawn. Middleton maintained his ground 
and the people theirs through six prorogations and six eledtions, 
the bill coming up to be rejedled by the Council eight times. 
Governor Johnson in 1730 found the two parties equally un- 
conquered, and everything blocked so that no laws had been 
enadled for three years. Nicholson's impression had been that 
the spirit of commonwealth principles was increasing daily in 
the colony, influenced by the New Englanders, and also by 
insinuations industriously made by the late Mr. Rhett and 
Mr. Trott of the probability of the Lords Proprietors resuming 
the government. 




^^ 


^M 




^ 


i 


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^P 




E 


1 




1 




CHAPTER VIII. 

Boston, 1720 — 1743. 

[XXXV.] 
IN his return from Carolina in 1720 Amory had 
" made a trip to Rhode Island, New York and 
Pensilvania. ... As to those Parts they are fine 
Countrys but not comparable to Boston for trade 
so that I do resolve to continue and settle my Self here likeing 
this Place very well." . . . [XXXVI.] "Car il est certain," 
he informs a French correspondent, " que Celle est une tres 
Jollie Place et de Beau Monde," and he thereupon writes out 
an " Inventory of Merchandize & Debts or Stock belonging 
to Thomas Amory late of Terceira settled this fifteen day of 
Oftober by the Grace of God at Boston New England, Anno 
Domini 1720." ^^^'■' 

[XXXVII.] " To Mr John Amory at Taunton in Somerset- 
shire p. Capt" Barlow. 

Boston ys 1 1 g*"' 1720. 

Sr 

Never meeting in my life time except my Relations 
any of my Name before the other day y' I was in company 
with your Son Mr Simon Amory also Mr Emmons Wife but 



88 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

they not being able to give me an Ace' whether we are related 
make bold to desire a Line from you w' you know of my 
ffamily and if we are related by the Information I give you. 

My Fathers Name was Jonathan Amory, he was a Merch' 
at South Carolina and dyed ab' 20 years agoe he was born at 
Bristol & I suppose my Grant Fathers Name was Thomas 
Amory whom lived at Bristol. I had several Uncles, one 
John Amory whom lives in Gallwey in Ireld. One Robert 
Amory y' was a Merch' at Antigua he is dead. And I have 
a first cousin a Counsellor of the Middle Temple in London 
whom is now at Lymerick his name is Thomas Amory son of 
my Eldest Uncle named Thomas Amory for my ffather was 
the youngest of all his Brothers. My Cousin Thomas having 
a small Estate at Bristol now whom I lived with in London 
several years & served seven years to a ffrench Merch' there 
Mr Nicholas Oursel before I was out of my time was sent 
fadtor to Terceira one of the Azore Isld belonging to the 
Portuguese where I lived thirteen years and last June was 
twelve month come to this place & went to So. Carolina 
where I have a small Estate thinking to have settled there 
where I have a sister Marryed to Mr Arthur Middleton one 
of the richest Men of the place, but finding So. Carolina 
sickly did not like living there and after seeing Philidelphia, 
New York & Rhode Isld have resolved to continue and settle 
here for it is equal to me where I move my Effedls but finds 
this a Place of great Trade much beyond any Place on the 
Contin' I shall be glad to be favourd w''' yours in answer to 
this and if can render you or ffriends any Service shall be 
proud of your commands for the Name sake wishing you all 
health & happiness I am with all due Reguard " 



Boston^ 1 720-1 743. 89 

There is nothing to show that this letter was answered or 
even received, and its question is still without reply. Mr. Simon 
Amory, whose brother's great-grandson is Sir John Heathcoat 
Amory, M.P., is not mentioned again in the letter-books. The 
baronet's father, Mr. Samuel Amory, was in correspondence 
with Mr. T. C. Amory and others of our family from about 
1840, He was unable to trace his line farther back than this 
John Amory of Taunton, but his pedigree at the College of 
Arms has at John's name the note " Supposed to be of Barn- 
stable, Devon." 

A few days before his visit to Carolina Thomas had entered 
in his accounts ^2, " depence to Mrs Holmes." ^^^ Mrs. 
Francis Holmes in the absence of her husband, the industrious 
trader and ship-owner whose letter from Charleston we read 
above, managed the " Bunch of Grapes " tavern, where new 
Governors and all distinguished visitors to Boston were always 
entertained. Her grandfather, Arthur Mackworth, owner of 
Mackworth's Point and an island near it at Casco, Maine, had 
married the widow of Samuel Andrews, a London merchant. 
Their daughter, Rebecca Mackworth, was married at Boston, 
in 1658, to Nathaniel Wharfe of Casco or of Gloucester ; and 
her daughter, Rebecca Wharfe, was married likewise at Boston, 
February 15th, 1693, to Francis Holmes, whose origin is 
unknown. A map of Boston in 17 14 gives Captain Holmes's 
Wharf " F. L. G." writes in the " Boston Transcript," May 
1 2th, 1894, of " the tavern which formed the northeast corner 
of King Street and Mackrill Lane . . . sold on certain con- 
ditions, Sept. 21, 1722 to Francis Holmes by Abiezer Hol- 
brook. . . . Francis Holmes, the first keeper of the tavern 
was . . . living in precindl 5 in 1695 and filled two minor 

N 



go The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 

town offices in 1699 and 1701. Before keeping the Bunch 
of Grapes he is often referred to in Sewall's Diary as an inn- 
holder. Nov. 8. 1706 ' Deputies treat the Govr. at Homes's.' 
He was then probably dispensing good cheer at the Blue 
Anchor, a tavern long celebrated in the colonial days. This 
inference is based on a comparison of Whitmore's notes to 
John Dunton's Letters with an entry in the seleftmen's re- 
cords, Feb. 7, 1709. [In Mr. T. C. Amory's collection of 
family papers is a parchment deed of sale of the Blue Anchor 
Tavern, in the street leading to Roxbury, from Elizabeth 
Monck, widow of George Monke, to James Pitts, mariner, 
August 2ist, 1703.] Sewall says June 17, 1709, *I treat the 
Govr. at Homes's : had two dishes of green pease : Sir Charles 
Hobbey, Mr Commissary, Mr Leverett, Lt. Coll, Ballentine, 
Mr Pemberton, Major Pigeon, Capt. of the Matroses, eleven 
in all : paid 36^.' He was allowed /^8 by the seleftmen, 
Feb. 4, 171 1- 1 2 'in consideration of a house of his in King 
Street being pulled down in order to put a stop to the fire on 
the second of Odtor, last.' The Bunch of Grapes was prob- 
ably established as an inn about this time. Feb. 6, 1711-12 
' Two legs broken in town this day, Frank Homes, by his 
horse falling on him ' etc. says Sewall. For some reason 
objedlion was made to the renewal of his licence as an inn- 
holder in 171 3 but was withdrawn. He remained adlively 
at the head of the tavern until 1721, spending much of his 
time after that date in South Carolina looking after his 
property there. His will was proved in Charleston S, C. 
June 9, 1726. Besides land in Charleston, he owned a 
plantation of 500 acres called Beach Hill and another of 
eighty acres on James Island. His sloop named the ' Bumper ' 



Boston^ 1 720-1 743. 91 

is disposed of in his will. He was married to Rebecca 
Wharfe . . . by Rev. Cotton Mather. He joined the Brattle 
Street Church Nov. 3. 1706. Of his twelve children two 
daughters may be mentioned, Rebecca, who subsequently 
owned the tavern property, and Anne who married William 
Coffin, the third innkeeper. Rebecca, baptized Dec. 22. 
1700 married Thomas Amory May 9, 1721. , . . Rebecca 
Holmes succeeded her husband . . . and was ' approved for 
innholder ' July 18. 1726. Administration on her estate was 
granted Feb. 16. 1730-1. . . . Ebenezer Holmes, one of the 
administrators, charges himself with * Received for rent of 
William Coffin for the Bunch of Grapes jC337-' • • • William 
Coffin, the third keeper of the Bunch of Grapes, was the son 
of Nathaniel and Damaris (Gayer) Coffin of Nantucket, He 
was born Dec. i, 1699, and married Anne Holmes Sept. 3, 
1722. He took charge of the tavern on the death of his 
mother-in-law. April 21, 1731, 'Upon the petition of 
William Coffin for a License to be an Innholder in the 
House called the Bunch of Grapes in King Street. His 
Petition to the General Court and their answer to it. The 
Seleftmen have Considered them, And they do approve of 
and recommend the Said William Coffin to be a Person of 
Sober Conversation suitably accommodated and Provided for the 
Exercise of Such an Imployment.' In Judge Benjamin Lynde's 
diary are frequent references to the tavern. 'Aug. 15, 1732. 
I put our Courts Club, 4 of us at Coffin's, to my account.' 
Coffin kept the tavern two years or more. He was an officer of 
Trinity Church and became a merchant of note. He died in 
1775. He was the grandfather of General John Coffin, Admiral 
Sir Isaac Coffin, Bart., and Sir Thomas Aston Coffin, Bart." 



/ 



92 'The Descenda?its of Hugh Amory. 

Several of Holmes's sons were merchants at Charleston ; 
one went to sea and had a sloop of his own ; Eben, who 
stayed in Boston, seems to have been the only one for whom 
Harvard was thought possible. " Dear Beckee," their father 
writes ^^'' to his eldest daughter in 1720, " Bee sure asist your 
mothar ... & exhoart your Brothers & sisters to diligenc & 
if Eben goes to Colledg I Hope the Lord will give him 
Grace to Improve so greatt a fafour as Larning." Beckee's 
brothers write to her "by every opportunity" with such ex- 
pressions as " Ever Loving Sister," and " This will kiss your 
dear hands," etc. She closes a note to one of them, younger 
than herself, with " Love and sarvis to you, your Loveing 
sister Rebekah Holmes." 

[XXXVHL] Thomas Amory wrote to her father, Feb- 
ruary 9th, 1720-1 : 

"Sir 

" Please God you'l receive this under convert Mad™ 
Holmes Letter for since that I have seen the Continent all 
along to Philadelphia do find Boston to be the best place for 
me to settle at, likeing it extraordinary well so have resolved 
to sett down & settle here the next business in hand was to 
look out for an help Mate and by the frequent conversation 
with your beloved Daughter Mrs Rebecca whom I find to 
answer the General Charadfer the World gives of her, to be a 
most Discreet Virtuous good-humoured Young Woman & has 
all the Good Qualities y' can be expressed for a Man to be 
happy with her. Wherefore we have the consent of your 
beloved Spouse, only waiting now y' first Opportunity y" same 
from your good Self, with your advice & blessing for the 



Boston^ 1 720-1 743. .93 

Continuance of our happiness being most afFedlionate to you 
& yours reff'ng to Mad"* Holmes further thereon and am with 
best Respefts y'' assured & obed' hble Servant." 

[XXXIX.] . . . "If it was not for Mad"^ Rhett's letter to 
me I reed at Terceira," he writes a month later to Bunratty, 
" I should not have left y' Place so soon by Two Years, being 
as y' I was the English & Dutch Consul was in the Way of 
getting of Money w'^'' has been a great loss to me, there being 
no remedy but Patience, taking all things thank God for the 
best. . . . finding this y= best Place for trade &c much beyond 
any of the other places on the English Contin' have resolved to 
settle here Please God for my life expecting to be marryed 
within this 6 mos. to a young Woman of about 20 years of Age 
with whom I doubt not but to be very happy she having all 
the good Qualities to make a good Wife, being very Virtuous 
& Discreet & good humoured. As to her fortune it is but 
jr5oo y' money w'^'^ is what they give generally with their 
daughters, her father being very well to pass in the world 
haveing several children. W' I look upon is her good 
Qualities, hopeing with the blessing of God & our Endeavours 
to rubb through the world as well as we can with the little we 
have, humbly desiring the Continuance of your affection & 
blessing for us." 

[XL.] To his father-in-law he says, June 9th, 1721 : "As 
to my Marriage it was y^ (f^ Past ; this week we are gott to 
housekeeping as New Beginners, living in one of the houses 
belonging to Mr. Lendal." [Mr. T. C. Amory understood 
this to mean Lindal's Row in Quaker Lane, now Congress 
Street. If I am not mistaken, the " Bunch of Grapes " was on 



94 The Descendants of Hugh Atnory. 

the site of Brazer's Building "just below the Town House."] 
" Our concern is to gett a good Serv' or a good black house 
maid for a good Serv' is scarce to be had here. If lie in your 
way be pleased not to loose the opportunity of buying a good 
black. Maid. Rebecca remembers her duty to y" doubting not 
in the least please God we shall be very happy & contented 
together, finding her very good humoured." 

The following record from which I have already quoted 
is in the possession of a great-great-granddaughter : ^^ 

" I, Thomas Amory, son of Jonathan Amory and Rebeckah 
Amory, was born in Dublin in May 1682 and was christened 
at Christ Church. [See above, page 27.] My Cousin Thomas 
Amory my Godfather. 

" My wife Rebeckah Holmes, now Amory, was born the 
iS'** December 1701. 

" I was married to my wife Rebeckah the 9''' of May 
1721, by the Rev'd Mr Benj. Coleman. 

" My son, Thomas Amory, was born the 23'''' April, 1722, 
35 minutes after three in the afternoon. Godfathers my 
cousin Thos. Amory, Mr Thos. Lemere stand for him, Mr 
Job Lewis. G. mother Mad'm Loyd. 

" My daughter Mary Amory was born the g''' December 
1723, 35 minutes after two in the afternoon, G. father Mr 
James Smith, God-mother Madam Luce and Mad'm. Guerrish. 

"My daughter Rebeckah Amory was born the 12* day 
of June, 1725, 3 quarters of an hour after 12 in the morning. 
God-father Mr. John Barnes, Godmother Mad'm Miles and 
Mad'm Smith. 

"My son Jonathan Amory was born the 19"' day of 



Boston^ 1720-1743. 95 

December about half an hour after 8 in the morninfr, on a 
Monday 1726. Godfathers Mr. Joshua Were and Mr WilHam 
Coffin. God-mother Mad'm Barnes." 

Another son, not in the record, was born in August, 1728, 
and named John. 

[XLL] In Oftober, 1721, Thomas writes : " We are very 
dull at Boston by Reason of the Contageous Distemper of 
Small Pox " . . . " ffor some months Past we have had the 
Small Pox very Grievous in Boston, some thousands have had 
it, & People falling down daily sick of it — Several People 
have dyed of it at Present in my ffather's family 5 has it on 
the recovery, the youngest daughter of ab' 8 years dyed 
yesterday of it & there are very few families y' some Body or 
other dont dye out of it. . . . Since my preceding lines dyed 
one more of the ffamily, Nathaniel Holmes of 17 years old 
whom was Prentice to a Merch'." It was in this year that 
Dr. Boylston, encouraged by the Rev. Cotton Mather, 
ventured to begin inoculation. Isaac Holmes writes from 
Charleston in 1730 to his sister, Mrs. Amory, " I am Inform'd 
your Chilldren are to be Inoculated I pray god to preserve 
them and to work the Cure for them — its a praftice I much 
aprove of. I hope tho the small pox spread it will not prove 
mortal amongst you." 

[XLII.] By the autumn of 1721, Thomas "would fain 
purchase a small matter of land here to improve, this being a 
very thriving Country & a Man's Estate secure," A map of 
Boston,^^^ made in 1722, shows " Amory's Wharf and Still- 
house " at the corner of Orange (now Washington) and Castle 
Streets. [XLIII.] "In 1722, "he afterwards writes to Oursel, 



96 The Descendants of Hugh A?nory. 

" I bought me a P' of Land at y'= So. End of Boston, where I 
built a Wharf for Lumber &c, of about 300 ft, a Dwelling- 
house & a Still house y' I make ab' 3 hhds of Rhum a week 
w'** my own Slaves as also do distill Turpentine upon my 
Wharf. Last year I moved there and y* year have begun to 
keep a Shop & Warehouses where I sell by Wholesale & 
Retail! West Indian and European goods being Convenient 
for the Country People that thanks be to God have accom- 
plished my affairs that being managed by my family there [/.£',, 
in Carolina]. I deal little to sea & for my Own Part do keep 
Warehouse by the Long Wharfe very convenient for trade, & 
do sell by wholesale European & W. India Goods, further a 
pretty deal of Commissions from North & South Carolina 
but little from Europe w*^*^ I should esteem very much . . . 
would easily advance 5 or 600 Pounds on good European 
goods. . . . Most hble respects to Madam Oursel & Godson 
& the two young Ladies." 

[XLIV.] " Boston 3^** December 1 722 To Edward Moseley. 

" I find you design to consign me more Wheat & some 
Tarr . . . & of y' Produce to buy yo a Man Slave ab' 20 to 
25 years old. I have given out y' I want one & shall putt it 
in the N. Paper if none offers shortly . . . here it is rare to 
find one for less than 60 to jo^^ p. head without he has been 
a serv' y' has disobliged his Master by steeling &c., & then to 
have em off will sell em at abt 50 to 60 a head at y' time I 
reed y' ^^o from Coll Townsend there was a brave fellow to 
be sold w*^** I was to have had for ^50 provided I had shipt 
him off whom was thievish in y" family but reckon it is y' 
same at your place as at So Carolina y' Negroes cau[gh]t easily 



Boston^ 1 720-1 74.3. 97 

& do hardly steal being they are well chastised & there are no re- 
ceipts. As soon as I can buy a good Slave shall ship him to you." 

[XLV.] "Boston, December 29'" 1722. To Francis 

Holmes, senior. 
" We have nothing a New. The Town talk is most now 
upon Ace' of his Excellency y"^ Gov^ Shute being aboard of 
Capt Durrel with whom they say designs for Antigua from 
there for London. Others that from y= Man of Warr designs 
to goe aboard Cap" Clark from London be it as it will be he 
has layd abord three nights & nobody knew of his design or 
Embarqueing & since he was abord he has writt to y= 
Council y' he designed for London they say is very much dis- 
pleased with the Assembly & several of the Council." 

Beside the correspondence with merchants in Maine, New 
Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, both Carolinas, the 
Azores, Ireland, and England, the books show a regular inter- 
change of letters with Bunratty, John Amory of Galway and 
the Ramseys. 

[XLVL] In a letter to James Ramsey are the words, " I 
am sorry for my Brother David's illness,"— one of several 
allusions to " my Brother David," by Thomas and Ann alike, 
whence arose the myth that Jonathan Amory of South CaroHna 
had a son David. We now know that he had not, but that 
his first wife, by her Houston marriage, had. " Brother David 
is dead about Twelve months ago," Ann Ramsey writes from 
Lazyhill, August 5th, 1728. The parish register shows the 
burial of David Houston, June 30th, 1727. Neither had 
Jonathan the son Isaac who appears with his wife Charity and 



o 



98 The Descenda?Jts of Hugh Amory. 

daughter Ann Edolls, etc., in some of our lately-written 
genealogies. These names belong to a family at Whitchurch, 
Somerset (Collinson's *' History of Somersetshire," vol. ii., p. 
444), who spelt the surname Emery, but whom (finding 
" Whitchurch " jotted down in one of Thomas of Boston's 
books) Mr. T. C. Amory took into an hypothesis which he 
formed to account for a story which is still unexplained. Dr. 
Joseph Johnson ("Traditions of the Revolution," 1851) was 
great-grandson of a Mrs. Amory who came from England to 
Charleston about 1750, and the story says asserted her children's 
right to the property of Jonathan Amory the Treasurer, The 
tradition ignores that the estate had been fought over and 
settled with all possible publicity a quarter of a century before, 
and that no new claim could have arisen since. Dr. Johnson 
imagined that Mrs. Amory was a second wife of Thomas of 
Boston, but learning, after his book was published, that this 
was not the case, he accepted the suggestion that she might 
have been the wife of a brother left in Ireland when Thomas 
was taken to Carolina. One theory was that David was this 
brother ; another theory added a second brother, Isaac, possibly 
afterwards of Whitchurch, because Mrs. Amory's only son 
was Isaac, the Rev. Isaac Amory (see Dalcho, " History of the 
Church in South Carolina," 1820, p. 361). But there were 
no such brothers, the Whitchurch family's dates do not fit the 
Rev. Isaac Amory's career, and neither they nor he — which 
last fadl one regrets — have any place in the present history. 

" Dear Brother," Ann Ramsey requests "^ of Thomas in 
1722, " when you write next give me y^ account of Carrolina 
— whether it be as formerly, when we were there. I sopos 
it might be much improved as most places is. I confess I 



Boston, I 720-1 743. 9^ 

think much of that Country of late. ... Let me know how 
my sister Mrs Midleton is & how meny children she has, & 
whether Madam Quarey be living, y' Gentlewoman we came 
with from Carolina," Thomas had written [XLVII.] nearly 
a year before to his uncle : " My dear sister Middleton is dead 
I haves lost a dear ffriend. God prepare us all for a future 
State this being uncertain & short." 

A grandson of Ann (Amory) Chappell, named Alan 
MulHn, brought a letter to Thomas from his uncle John, on 
whose recommendation [XLVIII.], Thomas writes, " [I] do 
sett up Mr Mullen in a country town called Providence to 
follow his calling of Chirurgery & Apothecary, where he 
may do very well if he minds his business." . . 

[XLIX.] " Mr Allen MuUin has given me," he tells his 
uncle, " an Acdl of my Relations of whom I knew nothing 
before, & Particularly of the Splendor my Cousin Thomas 
lives in being heartily rejoyced with it wishing him long 
life & health to enjoy it . . . knowing no affec* Rela- 
tionships besides himself Particularly when was with him 
vj''^ I continually remember, for never was with any Relation 
since but as yo know among Strangers w-^i^ has often made 
me thoughtfull." [L.] To Bunratty he says. May 27th, 
1722: "The 29«h Past my Son was christened Thomas, and 
I gott Thomas Lechmere Esq brother to my Lord Lechmere 
to stand GodfFather for you . . . humbly desireing you'll 
excuse my boldness in naming of you without orders, hoping 
you'l accept of y^ Little Serv' whom grows thanks be to God 
a mighty fine child." Bunratty had already written — though 
the letter had not arrived — to acknowledge the " news of yr 
having a son w^^ j ^^ ^^^y glad to hear. My service to mj 



L.o 



100 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

new Cousin " [Rebecca.] Thomas had counted on his aid in 
London if the Charleston case should be appealed, but Bun- 
ratty ^^^'' explained, June 21, 1722, that it did not "lye in my 
way to asist you in it at present, having quitted London and 
all sorts of business to live retired in y^ Countrey. I find 
you have been misinformed as to my circumstances here, the 
Estate that I am concerned in was purchased subjeft to great 
incumbrances besides w*^** I have some of Uncle Robert's to 
answer to this day. . . . What you have done for your Brother 
Ramsey I know not, he has been so friendly to you that I 
cannot but wish to hear you have done him Justice and the 
like as to yr Mother's Brother (Geo. Houston) [probably a 
slip for your Mother s son, David H.ouston\ as far as you 
have any Effedts of yr ffathers to answer it. Excuse the short- 
ness of my Letter for I write in pain. Yr AfFe. Cousin & serv'. 

" Thos. Amory." 

It was not Thomas's fault, but the result, no doubt, of Mr. 
Middleton's absorption in state affairs in Carolina, that the 
Ramseys had to wait five years for the deed of " one quarter 
of a house at Bristol," which was Ann's, and which Thomas 
had rescued with the rest of his father's papers. He had left 
it at Goosecreek for safe keeping, and when he sent for it Mr. 
Middleton delayed to look it out and despatch it until Thomas 
[LI], having urged him in vain, asked the younger Francis 
Holmes, living at Charleston, to speak : " I desire y' no fur- 
ther time be lost ... its not a quarter of an hour's looking 
among y^ Papers for I showed y™ to Mr. Middleton myself; 
& present my best respefts to his lady " — Mr. Middleton's 
second marriage having lately taken place. 



Boston^ 1720-1743. loi 

[LII.] " Boston May 7''' 1726. To Thomas Amory Esq. 

"... My son grows a very sensible & beautiful Child, 
as also my two Girls Mary & Rebeckah, thanks be to God." 

[LIIL] "May lo'^^ 1726. To John Amory. 

"... I reed a Letter from our Relation Mrs Mary Gierke 
adviseing me the Death of her husband & y' she had Letters 
from Ireld. y^ my Cousin Thomas Amory had sold Bunratty 
to Mr. Studdert for Three Thousand Pounds, y' Mr. Allin 
[Mullin] was marryed at New London in these Parts ; he has 
not writt to me. . . ." 

Mrs. Clark was a daughter of his aunt Hoskins. Alan 
Mullin had told him of her being at Antigua, and he occa- 
sionally wrote to her. [LIV.j "I observe w' you write," he 
tells her in 1726, " concerning my Cousin 6c yr Advice to me 
to goe over to Ireland. I had letters from my Cousin dated 
y' 19 S''^'' last, & another from my Uncle John. . . . They 
write afFecSionately to me, but dont write me a word of Bun- 
ratty, nor ffamily, nor of going over there nor anything abt 
his making his Will, & as y' I am settled here with my 
fFamily it must be some certain encouragement before to leave 
my buisness." 

The last date in the Letter Books is May 7th, 1728. His 
wife's account '^^ of his death is taken from an undated copy, 
where her spelling has been modernized : 

" Mr. Thomas Amory died June 20th, 1728, at five o'clock 
in the morning, by a very sad accident. Going into the still- 
house to look after some necessary affair fell into a cistern of 
returns. There being nobody therein there [died] as was the 



102 'The Descefida/its of Hugh Amory. 

sovereign will of God, and I must submit, though the loss & 
aggravating circumstances are beyond expression. Nothing but 
infinite power & mercy can sustain me under the weight of it. 

" He was born in Limerick in Ireland, son of Jonathan & 
Rebecca Amory. 

" His mother died at Barbadoes when he was so young as 
not to remember anything of her, after which his father re- 
moved to South Carolina, there married, had some more 
children, sent him to London for schooling at [blankjteen 
years old, where served his time to Mr. Osell merchant, 
his father dying about the time of his going to prentice, his 
master sent him to Terceira on his business where he continued 
fourteen or fifteen years, only a voyage or two, & was well- 
respefted & several years was English & French Consul which 
he resigned about the year 171 8, came to Boston in his way 
to South Carolina in order to settle his father's estate which 
by fraud was to much damage, his relations being all dead 
but one half-sister y" married to Mr. Middleton & is since 
dead, & after having been to Rhode Island, York 6c Philadel- 
phia came to Boston and by God's Providence was married to 
me in May 1721, have had four children, Thomas, Mary, 
Rebecca & Jonathan. Was much loved by all that knew him, 
being very ready & capable." 

" S. Carolina, July 29. 1728." [Isaac Holmes to Mrs. 
Holmes, and Mrs. Amory. ^^"J 

" HoNouRD Mother 
" Mad"* 
" This ... to condole with you and our family in 
the great Loss of our Bro Amory and beg the Lord to sandify 



Boston, 1720-1743. 10.J 

to us all his untimely End. we have only Lost a freind but 
my Poor Sister a Kind Husband and her Children a tender 
father. . , , 

" My love to my Sister Coffin and bro. Will*"." 

" Dear Sister Amorv 

"... last week we reed the maloncolly acdl of 
your misfortunes in the Loss of your Husband. I beg God 
of his infinite mercy to support you under your aflidions and 
prepare us all for so great a change. I heartyly condole your 
Loss. I hope God will be pleased to carry you through all 
your troubles. ... I here make you all the offers of Service 
in my Power at so great a distance and wish I could be 
with you to help you tho I hope you'l find many abler 
friends. ..." 

Rebecca was appointed guardian of the children and ad- 
ministratrix of the property. To colleft the debts and settle 
accounts was impossible but by continuing to trade, and for 
nearly fifteen years she seems to have carried on something of 
her husband's importing business and supervised the manage- 
ment of the still-house and wharf Mr, T. C. Amory gives 
the Inventory I'lo in 1728 as amounting to £z,b\o, with debts 
of over ;/;i 1,000, and credits over X^i 6,000. Rebecca's final 
account 1" when her eldest son came of age shows that the 
balance of nearly ^^5,000 had then been secured. The value 
of these sums is vague, owing to the condition at that time of 
the Provincial currency. 

During the summer of 1728 three letters for Thomas 
Amory arrived from Ireland, written by John Amory,!*^ Ann 
Ramsey, and Mrs. Amory of Bunratty. They announced that 



104 '^k^ Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

ten days after our ancestor died at Boston, his cousin, Thomas 
Amory, had died at Bunratty, leaving him jTioo, with the 
right of redemption of the mortgaged lands at Brislington and 
the reversion of the rest of his estate in case the two persons 
to whom it was first bequeathed should die without issue male. 
These two persons were a son and daughter of Bunratty's who 
were without legal right to his name except such as he con- 
ferred upon them by special provision in his will. The son, 
called Thomas Amory of Rathlahine, had, two years before, 
married Elizabeth Vandaleur, whose father, the Rev. John 
Vandaleur, held a living near Bunratty. The daughter, Lucy, 
was the wife of one of the McMahons of the county Clare. 
In order to leave all his Irish property as he wished, Bunratty 
had been obliged to free the lands in Kerry from the entail 
created by his father's will. Thomas of Boston had probably 
never heard of this entail, and neither he nor his uncle John, 
who with him would have benefited by it, seems to have been 
told when it was cut off, as in due legal form it was^^^ about 
the year 1726. John and the other relations in Ireland had 
not forgotten its existence ; they supposed that it was in force, 
and they had also an idea that the lands in Clare which had 
belonged to Robert Amory were under a similar restriftion. 
Robert's will, made at Antigua, certainly had left the bulk of 
his estate, real & personal, to Thomas of Bunratty, with the 
provision that if the latter died without lawful heirs, it should 
pass to his cousin, Thomas of Boston. But after the date of 
that will, Robert had sold the estate to which it referred and 
had invested in the Clare lands; it is possible that such a 
change would invalidate the Antigua will. It may be remem- 
bered that this will was not discovered until after Thomas of 



Boston^ 1720-1743. 105 

Bunratty had entered into possession of the property as Robert's 
heir-at-law; but when it came to light in 171 2 it was regularly 
recorded at Dublin. If then it would have been in force at 
the time of the discussion after Bunratty's death, why did no 
one appeal to it ? That Bunratty had expected some discon- 
tent with what he was doing is shown by a clause in his will 
direding that any legatee who disputed it should thereby for- 
feit his legacy. To his uncle, John Amory — " on his giving 
to my executors a full . . . [word omitted in copy] of all 
demands and pretences whatsoever to any share of the real or 
personal estate left by my father or my uncle Robert Amory" 
— he bequeathed fifty pounds sterling a year during his natural 
life, and also the sum of _^ioo "over and above what he has 
already had . . . from me, and without any detention for 
what remained due from him to my Uncle Robert Amory 
deceased or to me as his executor," The value of the whole 
estate is so variously reported that no estimate is possible. 
The highest amount named is jr8,ooo a year. It still included 
Garryard and other lands in Kerry. Minor legacies were to 
"my sister O'Connor, my cousins Jane Bew and her son 
Thomas, Elizabeth Clark, Samuel Coynes, and Ann Thomp- 
son als Creagh." 

The relations in Ireland chose to resent this will as an 
injustice to Thomas of Boston, and their letters before they 
received the news of his death made Rebecca feel that duty to 
her young son demanded of her an effort to recover the estate 
for him as his father's right. With the aid of Mr. Robert 
Auchmuty, who had been her husband's lawyer, she wasted 
time and trouble, ''' until John Amory, whose opinion had 
first misled her, changed his mind and repeatedly assured her 

p 



io6 The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 

that there was no case at all. Then she applied for what the 
will gave her, but, as the five years' correspondence on this 
subjeft shows, without success. Her anxiety at last was to 
have documentary proof for her children that she had done 
her best. She employed agents to inquire into the Brislington 
mortgage and had discouraging reports, receiving also a long 
and courteous letter ^''•'^ on the subjeft from Thomas Amory of 
Rathlahine. The mortgagee's descendants had refused to come 
to any account unless a sum of over jr2,ooo should be first 
paid into Chancery where the whole case would have to be 
tried at indefinite expense. Rebecca naturally abandoned the 
idea. Of the ^^1°° legacy in Bunratty's will Thomas of 
Rathlahine wrote : " I cannot venture to pay it to your order 
for many reasons too tedious to be here menconed & ... as 
my Estate is security for it, it is y' properest way to let it lie 
in my hands till I can safely pay it ; or if you think not so, I 
shall be oblig'd to pay it in to the Exchequer which will be 
much to y' disadvantage of y' Minor." 

Among the letters to Thomas of Boston which his widow 
received and answered were two from Julia O'Connor. "'' She 
introduced herself as " sister to your cousin Thomas Amory 
lately deceased by the mother's side and tho' I am not related 
to you yet as I knew your father very well and once saw you 
here in 1699. ... I should be very glad you possessed the 
estate," etc., etc. " .... I shall only mind you how I came 
to see you here in the year 1699. It was by means of my 
brother sending you with a letter to me to my lodgings in Pall 
Mall Street & you may remember I told you then you were 
like your father." Enclosing a copy of Thomas of Galy's 
will,'^' she explained that it had been made for her uncle, 



Boston^ 1 720-1 743. 107 

Raymond Fitzmaurice, whose estate her late husband had 
administered, and that she had brought it with her from 
Ireland by mistake among other parchments. In her second 
letter,^*' dated Bristol, May 15th, 1731, she says : "I have 
some papers in my hand W^'' cou'd give you light into w' is 
your right in the County of Kerry whither I am bound soon 
from this place where I have been about a fortnight & have 
been making Enquiry (of some of yr. relations the Emorys for 
so they write their name) about y^ Estate here in Somerset- 
shire, and they tell me it is in a very good condition . . 
so that I hope either this or the other Estate will induce 
you to come over more among yr. ffrds in old England and 
Ireland." ... 

The latest evidence of intercourse between Thomas 
Amory's family in New England and his relations in the Old 
World is a letter to Rebecca from Ann Ramsey in 1734.^^^ 
It contains thanks for a small gold ring, and asks if Thomas 
and Rebecca ever received " a fine gilt Sacrament book, a silk 
girdle, a silk trap [?]-bag " etc, which " I sent some years ago 
in my brother's time." " All the Enquiry was in my power " 
has failed to find Mrs. Julia O'Connor. 

Thomas of Rathlahine wrote 1^" " The Life of John Buncle 
Esq, containing various Observations and Refledions made in 
several Parts of the World and many extraordinary Rela- 
tions." The first volume appeared in 1756, the rest ten years 
later. "The Diary of Henry Crabb Robinson" (London, 
1869, 3 vols., vol. i., p. 425-426) notices it as follows : 

"January 2nd, 18 14. — Read lately the first volume of 
'John Buncle.' It contains but little that is readable but that 



io8 The Descendants (f Hugh Amory. 

little is very pleasing. The preachments are to be skipped 
over, but the hearty descriptions of charadler are very in- 
teresting from the love with which they are penned. Lamb 
says, with his usual felicity, that the book is written in better 
spirits than any book he knows. Amory's descriptions are in 
a high style ; his scene-painting is of the first order ; and it is 
the whimsical mixture of romantic scenery, millennium-hall 
society, and dry disputation in a quaint style which gives this 
book so strange and amusing a chara6ter. For instance, John 
Buncle meets a lady in a sort of Rosamond's bower studying 
Hebrew. He is smitten with her charms, declares his love to 
' glorious Miss Noel,' and when, on account of so slight an 
acquaintance — that of an hour — she repels him (for his love 
had been kindled only by a desperately learned speech of hers 
on the paradisiacal language) and threatens to leave him, he 
exclaims, ' Oh, I should die were you to leave me ; therefore, 
if you please, we will discourse of the miracle of Babel.' 
And then follows a long dialogue on the confusion of tongues, 
in which ' illustrious Miss Noel' bears a distinguished part." 

"The European Magazine" for 1789 mentions another of 
Thomas Amory's novels — " Lives of Several Ladies of Great 
Britain " — with the remark that these ladies " are not only 
beautiful, learned, ingenious and religious, but they are all 
zealous Unitarians in a very high degree as is the Author him- 
self." The author, from about 1737, lived chiefly in London, 
moving thence towards the end of his life to Wakefield, 
where his only son Robert had been praftising medicine for 
over thirty years. Robert's three sons^" had commissions, 
one in the navy and two in the army. The eldest son was 
crippled by wounds received in aftion under Admiral Rodney. 





CHAPTER IX. 

Boston, 1726 — 1765. 

HE young Thomas Amory of Boston, for whom 
his father was paying "Schoolmaster fines" by 
1726, entered the Latin School in 1735, and 
Harvard two years later. ^''- After his graduation 
in 1 74 1 lie studied Theology and, Mr. T. C. Amory says, 
would have taken orders in the Church but that his mother 
needed his presence and help. He is described in a deed ^^^^ in 
1769 as "Thomas Amory, Gentleman;" in 1772, as " Dis- 
tiller ;" at other times, as "Merchant." The house, distill- 
house, stores and wharf at the east end of Castle Street were in 
his share of his father's property. After his mother's death 
(she died in 1770) he bought Governor Belcher's house at the 
corner of Orange and Hollis Streets, the land measuring 
40 X 102 feet. It was along Orange Street and the rest of 
what we call Washington Street, that he and his two brothers 
were accustomed to take with great regularity their afternoon 
walk together, earning the nickname of " The Three Cocked 
Hats." Thomas married when he was forty-two his cousin, 
Elizabeth Coffin, aged twenty-three, daughter of his mother's 
sister, Ann Holmes, and of William Coffin, sea-captain, mer- 



no The Descenda?its of Hugh At?iory. 

chant, distiller, vestryman of Trinity Church, native of Nan- 
tucket, son of Nathaniel Coffin and his wife, the beautiful 
Quaker preacher Damaris Gayer, and great-grandson of 
Tristram Coffin, emigrant from Devonshire in 1642. Eliza- 
beth Coffin was the tenth of the thirteen children of William 
and Anne ; her elder brothers " Billey," " Nath," and John 
Coffin,^''* were about the ages of the three Amorys. 

Jonathan and John Amory were in partnership together^-'^ 
by 1757, as importers of dry goods, "at the Sign of the Horse 
at the Head of Dock Square." In this year John married 
Katherine, daughter of Rufus Greene, great-grandson of John 
Greene, who came to New England from Salisbury, and was 
associated with Roger Williams in the Providence Purchase 
in 1638. A brother of Rufus was Thomas Greene, who made 
the Greene Foundation at Trinity Church, Boston ; and 
another brother, Benjamin, was grandfather of the two sisters 
who married Charles Amory and James Sullivan Amory, 
grandsons of Thomas Amory and his wife Elizabeth Coffin. 

Thomas's brother Jonathan and his two sisters also mar- 
ried. Jonathan's wife was Abigail Taylor ; Mary's husband, 
Timothy Newell, merchant, a deacon of Brattle Street Church ; 
neither pair had children. Rebecca married Edward Payne, 
and had a son and three daughters — her line died out by 1840. 
John had at least seven sons and four daughters, and Thomas 
five sons and four daughters. It was said that as the Revolu- 
tion drew near Thomas and John planned to withdraw to 
England, leaving in the care of the childless Jonathan their 
combined families to the number of twenty-three. Perhaps 
this included the Paynes. 

Jonathan had been in Europe as a young man, probably 



Boston^. iy26-iy6^. iii 

making arrangements for trade : the following undated memo- 
randum'''*' was evidently written for him by his elder brother: 

"To Enquire of Mr Patrick Woodside (Instrument Maker 
on Austin Key, Dublin, near the Philadelphia and New York 
Arms) whatfoundation he had for enquiringot Capt. Ellis Comp- 
ton whether he knew the Family of the Amorys in Boston, & 
for telling him that there was an Estate fell to them in Ireland 
& saying that it was a pitty but they should know it — if Mr 
Woodside will acquaint you what he knows in relation the 
Family will esteem it a very great obligation." 

There is also a letter'"'' " to Tho. Spaight Esq. in Co. of 
Clare, Irland. — sent by Bro. Jon*. — Copy : 

"Sr. 

" There was a Settlement of Land in Irland made by 
Tho. Amory Esq to you & Tho. Purdon Esq in Trust for his 
Son Tho. Amory & his Daughter Lucy with Proviso that in 
case either of them dyd without Issue their part should 
descend to Tho. Amory of Boston and his Heirs male. I am 
the Eldest Son of Tho. Amory dec'', 

" Now I am to beg the favour of a Line from you to 
inform me the State of the Family & also with a Copy of the 
Settlement, not doubting but your regard to your Friend who 
made the Settlement as well as to Justice induces you to be 
willing to discharge the Trust according to the Settlement. 

"This waits on you by the hand of my next Brother 
bound to Europe & purposed to visit Irland. 

" I am Sr with Esteem S''. Your most humble Serv' 

"Tho. Amory." 



112 The Descendants of Hugh Aniory. 

A paper in another hand^^^ is marked " Copy," and has 
the dotted blanks here given : 

"Lim^, 6"' Aprill, 1750. 



" by your representation and such information as I cou'd 
collect from the sister & some of the Bews near relations 
to Thomas Amory deceased, I find that the Heir you represent 
liveing in Boston is entitled in the manner you mention'd to 
the Estate of Thom' Amory deceased, no aft of his if he was 
Tenant for life by the settlement could discontinue the Entail 
or bar the remainder, you mention y' the deceased divised 
Amory of Boston ^^150 or X,2oo provided he wou'd release 
his claim to the Estate, but you don't hint whether it was 
paid or release perfected, however fraudulent y" step may be 
in y"^ deceased, yet the operation of the settlement & of such 
relase must come under consideration at the same time. 

" There 's no law in being by w"^*^ a Tenant for life can 
avoid the Entail or limitation of his own settlement. Lucy 
McMahon's long since dead & left sever' sons &c the Eldest's 
of age. 

" Alderman Higgins, Jno. & Jane Bew, George Purdon 
one of the Trustee's dead, Thomas Spaight Esq'' the other 
Trustee's liveing. . . ." 

The inquiry was renewed nineteen years later when a 
chance of property not in the colonies had fresh importance. 
Boston was garrisoned, to the great displeasure of the town. 
Thomas Amory entertaining some of the officers at his house 
heard bricks thrown at his windows ^^■' — one waked his little 



Boston^ I 726-1 745. 113 

daughter by smashing the pane and falling on her bed. He 
went out to speak to the mob and it dispersed, but he had 
first hastily sent his guests by the garden way to the edge 
of the Back Bay, where they found a boat and escaped to 
their quarters. Ensign Burton of the 64th, who sailed for 
England with Governor Bernard, August ist, 1769, is prob- 
ably the E. W. Burton, who, touching at Halifax, delivered 
there a letter from Thomas Amory,'**^^ and forwarded the 
answer from Ireland three or four months later. Thomas had 
heard that a son of" Councellor Spaight" was at Halifax, and 
wrote to him asking whether Thomas of Rathlahine, his sons 
and his sister's sons, were living, and whether " there is a 
prospeft of Receiving an Estate so unjustly kept from the law- 
ful Heir." 

" Ennis, November 28"', 1769. 

"SiR^"' — According to my promise at leaving Boston I 
made all the enquiries in my power to satisfy you about the 
inheritance of the Estate in Ireland, the best and I am certain 
the truest account I could get is the enclosed ; my compts. to 
Mrs & Miss Amiel & Mr. Forrest and if it be any way in my 
power to serve you here you may be certain ot my com- 
plying. 

" Yours E. W. Burton." 

" Diredl to me at Limerick." 

What seems to have been enclosed is:^*^- 

"Halifax, August 15, 1769. To Thomas Amory, Merchant 

in Boston. 
" Sir, 

"In compliance with your letter and Mr Burton's 



1 14 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

request I will endeavor to give you the best information in my 
powder concerning Mr Amory late of Bunratty and wish the 
little I know may be of any service. 

" I am not personally acquainted with him but I know 
there is such a man who lives now in London and am sure he 
is the person you enquire after he has one son who was bred 
a physician and lives in some country town in England. His 
sister who was married to Mr McMahon is dead, and has left 
three sons and a daughter who is married to a Mr MacMahon 
and has several children. Her eldest son Thomas Amory 
McMahon lives at Ballykilty in the County of Clare. You 
desire to know if you have any prospeft of recovering the 
estate. That is a thing I cannot be least judge of but would 
advise you to take the best opinions before you attempt what 
must be attended with a vast expense. 

" I am Sir 

" Your humble Serv*. 
" William Spaight." 

Once more, after a seventy-five years' interval, the matter 
came up in 1844 when this Thomas of Boston having long 
since died, his eldest son's eldest son, the second Thomas Coffin 
Amory (cousin to Mr. T. C, Amory), received a letter : ^^^ 

" Street, Dublin, 17 June 1844. To Thomas C. 

Amory Esq'. 
" Dear Sir 

" Some years ago the late Major Amory came over 
to this country to sell a share of his family property in it 
which had been willed to him by one of his sisters but upon 
examination of his title deeds he found a difficulty of doing so 



Boston^ 1726-1745. 115 

as there was an entail which he was not aware of. He sub- 
sequently told me he found by the entail that I was his heir 
at law and that in consequence he would not attempt to sell 
the property; After the lapse of a few years being in great 
difficulties and fresh law opinions pointing out to him that by 
levying fines and suffering recoveries he might cut off the 
entail he did so (I being abroad at the time in the island of 
Ceylon) but not having been paid the purchase money in a 
satisfadlory way he commenced a law suit to get back the 
estate which suit his representatives have not yet brought to 
a conclusion. 

" In consequence of what Major Amory had told me I 
had taken out a copy of his great grandfather's will by which 
I found he had divided his property between his son and 
daughter, the former the Major's ancestor and the latter mine, 
with cross remainders and a proviso that any of his daughter's 
issue who might hereafter succeed to the whole property by 
failure of his son's issue should take the name and bear the 
arms of Amory. He also referred in the will to the deed by 
which he had settled the property which deed for many years 
I had been vainly trying to get a sight of until I discovered 
it latterly. By his will I thought I should at least have come 
in for my great-Grandmother's share of the property which 
her son ran through and which I thought by the will he had 
not a right to dispose of as he did by selling it but upon ex- 
amination of the deed I found that in case of failure of issue 
male by his daughter's descendants he had left your family 
the successors to it with various remainders to other branches 
of the family who might have issue male if at any time such 
failed in your family. 



ii6 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

" I fear there is a legal question whether my grand uncle 
Mr MacMahon who sold the property had not the right to dis- 
pose of it by levying fines which he did. If he was born before 
the deed entailing the property he could not, if subsequently 
he had the power by the law as it now exists. 

*' I have not been able to ascertain the date of his birth as 
yet, but as I found the deed would have conveyed the property 
to your family I tho't it right to leave a copy of the deed with 
Mr Amory in London, who I know is acquainted with you, 
for your perusal as my Grand-Uncle left no male issue I am 
consequently cut out of any right. 

" I fear lapse of time as well as other legal difficulties give 
you but a bad chance of anything from it but I have con- 
sidered it a point of common honesty to let you know how 
the case stands and as my son is to sail to-morrow for Canada 
to join his Regiment I have desired him to drop this letter in 
the American Post for you. I write in haste and have the 
honour to be with best wishes for all my American connexions 
though not having the pleasure of knowing them 

" Dear Sir 

" Very truly yours " 

I omit the signature because that branch of the family did 
not ask me to tell their history, and it is perhaps a liberty to 
say so much of it as I have. But I do not know if either the 
kindly writer of this letter or Dr. Amory of Wakefield has 
representatives now living. 

The recipient of the letter took legal advice upon it, of 
Mr James Trecothick Austin,^®* afterwards Attorney-General 
of Massachusetts. I find a copy "^ of several documents 



Boston^ 1 726-1 745. 117 

relating to the affair with a legal opinion following them, 
which begins : " There are two questions under the state- 
ments of these papers." The writer first inquires what rights 
his client could have under the will of Thomas of Galy, made 
in 1666, and dismisses that question as fruitless for three 
reasons: i. Because it cannot be satisfadlorily proved that 
Bunratty's son and daughter had no legal right. 2. Because 
it cannot be proved that the entail was not docked. 3. Be- 
cause the claim under the second will is the strongest and does 
not require proof of that nature. He then examines what 
rights his client could have under the will of Thomas of 
Bunratty, which i. conveyed certain lands to Thomas [of 
Rathlahine] for life ; if he had no issue, to Mrs MacMahon 
for life, and then to Thomas [of Boston] in tail male. But as 
Thomas of Rathlahine had a son and grandsons this is of no 
importance. 2. The will conveyed other lands to Lucy 
MacMahon for life, then to her son, and on failure of issue to 
Thomas of Boston. The only question arises from a vague- 
ness in the will's expression at this point: does "failure of 
issue" mean "if Lucy has no son," or "it her son has no 
son " ? 

If it meant " in case Lucy have no son," then Thomas of 

Boston would have no claim, for we know from Mr. 's 

letter that she did have a son. 

But if it meant " in case that son have no son," then there 
might be a claim, for we know her son died childless. It is 
said that this son, Mr. MacMahon, sold the lands. If the will 
meant " in case he have no son," it was by law impossible for 
him to sell, for there was a remainder limited over to Thomas 
of Boston, and in such a case the entail could not be docked. 



ii8 The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 

The whole question turns on whether Lucy MacMahon's son 
was born before Bunratty made his will. 

The idea of a lawsuit to be carried on in Ireland for the 
testing of this point, at a cost likely to equal the possible gain, 
did not commend itself to Mr. Amory, and he declined to 
take adtion. Thus, happily, the affair ended. 

Mr. T. C. Amory, writing ^^^ in 1850 of the origin of his 
own interest in genealogy, says : " When a boy in Park Street 
[No. 7, where the Union Club now stands, was bought by his 
father, Jonathan tertius, in 1812. It was sold about 1835.] 
I found in the basement room in an old fashioned bookcase of 
vast dimensions containing a great many old books that had 
belonged to my grandfather, an old parchment will [the copy 
of Thomas of Galy's will sent by Mrs. O'Connor] and papers. 
. . . Later ... I was called upon to ransack a trunk of my 
grandmother's full of interesting letters and papers." He was 
nineteen when he found this trunk, in the counting-room 
which had been his father's at 8, India Wharf. Mr. Henry 
Codman lent him the letter-books and papers of the Thomas 
Amory who first came to Boston, and his uncle Nathaniel 
Amory showed him the sketch of the author of "John Buncle " 
in the " European Magazine " (vol. xv, p. 21). Its reference 
to the Wakefield letter (see below. Chapter XVI.) led to his 
sending for a copy of this, which his cousin, Mr. James Bow- 
doin, procured for him from the British Museum. 

To return to the eighteenth century. It happened that 
before 1762 the firm of Jonathan and John Amory moved 
from Dock Square. If they had known what was coming 



Boston^ 1726-1745. 119 

they might have chosen their new position expressly to witness 
the drama of Boston's part in an American Revolution, From 
no point could the stage be commanded better than from win- 
dows in "King Street, just below the Towne House." ^'^'' As 
this expression, quoted by Drake in regard to their place oi 
business, is also found by him in the " Boston Gazette," of 
October 26th, 1724, describing the situation of "The Bunch 
of Grapes," it seems a fair inference that the brothers 
established themselves in their grandfather Holmes's house, 
which was now their mother's, and had ceased to be a tavern. 
I infer also that this was on the south side of the street, on the 
site of Brazer's Building, because on the north side "just 
below the Towne House " was the Colonial Custom House. 
John Amory's will, made in 1796, leaves "to my son Thomas 
Amory my moiety or half part of the house & land in State 
Street, Boston, at the corner of Quaker Lane [Congress 
Street] with the yard thereto belonging, the same now occupied 
by Mr Taylor and Mr Burley. Also my moiety of the small 
brick tenement adjoining, now occupied by Mr Gealey . . . 
but as the said premises so devised to my son Thomas as above 
have been long in our family it is my desire (though no legal 
restraint) that he will not part with the same, out of the 
family, without necessity." Drake believes that the Amorys' 
was the last of the " old stores " left standing in King Street, 
and Mr. S. A. Drake speaks ^^'^ of " an old two-storey wooden 
house which stood upon the site of Brazer's Building," and in 
which were begun in 1791 the United States Bank and the 
Post Office. I hope that all this is not a very absurd con- 
fusion on my part : I write it in order to diredl the attention 
of those who are able to settle it to a point which will always, 



Tzo The Descejidants of Hugh Aniory. 

I think, interest the family. Jonathan Amory had arranged 
his store for two separate businesses in 1780, when he set up 
his nephews' firm in the one half and remained himself 
in the other. It is not unlikely that he lived in the house 
over the store, as was still the custom of King Street merchants. 
John built for himself a house^^^ at the corner of Tremont and 
Beacon Streets, opposite King's Chapel. There are indications 
that John was the aftive partner, and composed the more im- 
portant of the firm's letters, but there was no difference of 
opinion between him and his brother, and in his absence the 
tone of the letters on public questions is unchanged. Both 
brothers were among the fifty-eight principal merchants of 
Boston who signed a memorial to the General Court ^"^^ in 
1760. They therein charged the Crown officials with having 
taken to their own use that proportion which by law accrued 
to the Province of the moneys obtained by seizure of smuggled 
goods. The petition was really a blow aimed at the Smug- 
gling Ads, at the Writs of Assistance, and in general at the 
new attempt of Ministers to reform " the scandalous slackness 
of our colonial administration." The blow had no effedl, and 
then came Otis with his plea — which for years, however, he 
still put as a request to a Sovereign Parliament — that all duties 
should be held illegal as the colonies were not represented in the 
House of Commons. While this principle was taking root in 
men's minds, and the pamphlet war between Mr. Apthorp and 
Mr. Mayhew was exacerbating the Puritan fear of the Church, 
the merchants began their praftical answer to the Govern- 
ment by making agreements not to buy — except at fixed 
prices, and as far as possible not to buy at all — anything im- 
ported from England. When on April 4th, 1765, news came 



Boston^ 1726-1745. 121 

that the Stamp A(5l — a measure avowedly for revenue, and as 
such resented by the colonists, although the revenue was to be 
spent in their own defence — had adiually passed, and would 
be in force from the ist of November then following, Samuel 
Adams openly denied Parliament's right to tax America, 
suggested union among the colonies, and urged a general non- 
importation. Four months later the appearance of Stamp-dis- 
tributors provoked riots, one of which beginning in King 
Street in the evening of August 26th with a bonfire and 
attacks on the Government offices, finished at the North End, 
where by daylight Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson's house, 
" one of the best finished houses in the Province, had nothing 
remaining but the bare walls and floors." ^'"^ Hutchinson, 
unjustly charged with having favoured the Stamp Adl, could 
hardly have failed to lose his life but for his daughter's refusal 
as the mob approached to escape unless he went with her. 
Neither magistrates nor militia officers interfered, and 
Governor Bernard, at the Castle down the harbour, heard 
nothing of it until the morning. When he did hear he 
hastened to town and summoned the Council. " Before they 
could meet," says Hutchinson, " the inhabitants of Boston as- 
sembled in Faneuil Hall and, in as full a meeting as had been 
known, by an unanimous vote, declared an utter detestation 
of the extraordinary and violent proceedings of a number of 
persons unknown. ... It could not be doubted that many of 
those who were immediate adtors in, as well as of those who 
had been abettors of, these violent proceedings, were present 
at this unanimous vote." It was proposed that the next night 
the reputable citizens should arm, and patrol the streets. But 
a group of them, " merchants and other persons of property 

R 



122 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

and charafter," threatened that this offer should be entirely 
withdrawn unless the Sheriff released a mechanic who had 
been arrested as ringleader of the mob ; and the few other 
rioters imprisoned were set free by a party of men who entered 
the gaoler's house at night and forced him to deliver up the 
keys. On the loth of September the Stamp-distributor for 
New Hampshire, landing at Long Wharf, met a crowd so 
threatening that he instantly renounced his office, and was 
brought in triumph up King Street to the Exchange, where 
the cheering was loud and long. On the 20th the stamps 
themselves arrived, but as there was no officer to receive them 
Governor Bernard could only keep them in the Castle, and 
prorogue the General Court without assenting to its proposal 
that transactions with unstamped papers should be formally 
legalized. The business community were fully resolved to 
have nothing to do with the stamps. They knew that their 
case had the sympathy of a large party in England, and that 
they could also put pressure on the merchants there by refusing 
to import. An agreement was promptly made " to recall all 
conditional English orders, except for sea-coal and a few other 
bulky articles, and to order none, except upon condition that 
the Stamp Ad: was repealed. All who did not come in to this 
agreement were looked on as enemies to the country. . . . All 
merchants who were getting vessels ready for sea took out 
their papers before the first of November, although they did 
nor expedl to use them for a month or more after that ; 
thereby avoiding stamped clearances." When the day came 
it was begun with tolling bells, the vessels in the harbour had 
their flags at half mast, and effigies of Grenville and Huske 
were found hanging on a tree near Essex Street, which had 



Boston^ 1726-1745. 123 

gained the name of the Liberty Tree at the time of the August 
riots. This time there was no riot, although thousands 
colledled near the tree in the afternoon, to cheer while the 
Sons of Liberty cut the figures down and put them into a cart, 
and then to follow the cart to the Court House where the 
Assembly were in session, thence to the North End, and 
finally to the Neck. Here the figures were hanged on the 
gallows, torn in pieces and flung into the air, the crowd 
responding with cheers, but thereafter dispersing quietly — 
proof to some minds that the " horrid violence " of August 
26th was "not agreeable to the sentiments of the Town ;" 
but proof to others " of an influence the mob was under, and 
that they might be let loose or kept up just as their leaders 
thought fit," This is the situation at the beginning of our two 
volumes of the Letter-Books of Jonathan and John Amory.^^^ 




CHAPTER X. 



Letter-Books, 1765- 1768. 

[LV.] "Boston, Oa 26. 1765 To Messrs Elams 
" Pr Logic & Cartwright, Via Bristol, w*'^ Duplicate of Bill. 

" Gentlemen 

ESTERDAY we reed a Letter from [blank] in- 
closing a duplicate Protest of Mr. Fluker's Bill — 
had you kept the second bill it would have been 
taken up by Messrs Lane & Co as wrote you pr 
Cap' Jackson. . . . The present difficulties relating to y' 
Stamp A6t prevent our inclosing you any Memorandum, if it 
is not repeal'd it will probably put an end to our Trade." 




[LVI.] "Boston, Nov. i. 1765 To Messrs Wright & Gill, 
Stationers. Pr Capt. Fleet. 

"Your favours of 21'' August we rec'd with the box of 
Cards pr Capt. Hunter — As by the Stampt A(5l any person 
that sells a pack of Cards after this Day is subjeft to a large 
penalty, We can't at present determine what we shall be able 
to do with them. Tho' from the determin'd Resolutions 
among all Ranks of People not to submit to it, we cant sup- 
pose it will ever take place among us. 



Letter-Books^ 1 765-1 768. 125 

" If it does it will be to the Ruin of your Trade here, as 
we have no doubt there will be a general Combination among 
all Degrees not to make use of any of your manufactures but 
those which absolute necessity requires, which will lessen 
your Trade here to one Quarter of what it now is. Frugality 
is the only weapon we have & this will be used to the utmost 
extent. 

" As the Answer of our Assembly 6c their Resolves speak 
the Sense of the Country on these Matters & as We think you 
may not have a sight of them in your Papers We have sent 
you by Capt. Fleet a doz. of our News Papers, which contain 
them, some of them are directed to our Friends, which (if you 
can without Expense & Trouble) please to forward, the others 
please to distribute among your Friends. 

» Yours " 

[LVII.] " Boston, Nov. 2. 1765. To Messrs Milloway & Eyer 
Pr Cap* Fleet & Logic. 

" This covers Drummond's bill on Sir Sam' Fludger & Co. 
for ^150 sterling. — please to send us 40 or 50 ps. of Rushia 
Drabs of a low price — The present Difficulties of the times 
prevent our Writing for anything further. If the Stamps Adt 
is not repeal'd our Importations from England will soon be in 
a manner over," 

The hint in the next letter about united ad:ion on the 
part of all the Colonies had good ground, for already in 
October at New York their delegates had met, summoned by 
the Massachusetts Assembly (at its June session) with a 
Circular in which even Governor Bernard and his Council 



1 26 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

had concurred. In November a few ships left Boston with 
unstamped clearances and a certificate from the Custom House 
officers that stamps could not be procured, but during the last 
weeks of the year even this form was set aside, vessels going 
out as usual. Such things were effe(5ted, Hutchinson says, by 
the authority of a mere committee of merchants, " Mr. Rowe 
at their head ; " and in deference to resolute Town-meetings 
the Courts also were re-opened, Hutchinson as Judge of 
Probate resigning rather than open his. The town, whose 
high-handed control of the provincial government he so in- 
dignantly describes, consisted at this time of fifteen thousand 
persons — counting women and children and a thousand negroes 
— lodged in less than seventeen hundred dwellings. The 
resistance it was making had so far strong support from public 
opinion in England. A suggestion in the House of Commons 
that the people of Boston were rebels, and that an army 
should be sent to reduce them, was silenced with cries of " To 
the Tower ! To the Tower ! " and Burke, private secretary to 
the minister who had succeeded Grenville, was setting the 
whole force of an unexampled eloquence against the Stamp 
Aft. His position in regard to it was the same which he 
held on the whole American question. " I am not," runs the 

well-known speech on American taxation, April 19th, 1774 

" I am not here going into the distin6tion of rights, nor 
attempting to mark their boundaries. I do not enter into 
these metaphysical distinctions, I hate the very sound of them. 
Leave the Americans as they anciently stood, and these dis- 
tinctions born of our unhappy contest will die with it. Be 
content to bind America by laws of trade : you have always 
done it, let this be your reason for binding their trade. Do 



Letter-Books^ 1765-1768. 127 

not burden them by taxes : you were not used to do so from 
the beginning, let this be your reason for not taxing. These 
are the arguments for States and Kingdoms. Leave the rest 
to the Schools, for there only may they be discussed with 
safety. Nobody will be argued into slavery," 

Mr. T. C. Amory mentions ^'^ a tradition in the family 
that Jonathan and John Amory's " correspondence, read in 
Parliament in 1765," strengthened the pressure for repeal. 
No doubt the London merchants, summoned to give 
evidence ^'^ before the Committee of the whole in February 
and March, 1766, would quote American letters in proof of 
what they said, but we cannot know details, as the reporting 
of debates in the House — even now technically a breach of 
privilege — did not begin until some years later. Among the 
persons ordered to attend, the Journal of the House of 
Commons names Mr. George Hayley (see Letter LXXV.), 
Mr. William Wright, perhaps of Wright and Gill (page 124), 
and Mr. William Reeve. It is to Devonshire and Reeve that 
the Amorys express special gratitude after the repeal is ob- 
tained (Letter LXXL). Parliament had received twenty-three 
petitions^'"* in a fortnight on the subjed:, beginning with one 
from " the merchants of London trading to North America." 
Considering, it said, that " from the Nature of this Trade con- 
sisting ot British manufactures exported, and of the Import of 
raw Materials from America ... it must be deemed of the 
highest Importance in the Commercial System of this Nation : 
and that this Commerce, so beneficial to the State and so 
necessary for the Support of Multitudes now lies under such 
Difficulties and Discouragements that nothing less than its 
utter Ruin is apprehended . . . and that in consequence of 



128 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

the Trade ... as established and permitted for many Years 
and of the Experience which the Petitioners have had of the 
Readiness of the Americans to make their just Remittances to 
the utmost of their real Ability, they have been induced to 
make and venture such large Exportations of British manu- 
fad:ures as to leave the Colonies indebted to the Merchants of 
Great Britain in the sum of several Millions Sterling, and that 
at this time the Colonists . . . declare it is not in their 
Pow^er, at present, to make good their Engagements, alleging 
that the Taxes and Restriftions laid upon them and the 
Extension of the Jurisdidlion of Vice Admiralty Courts . . . 
particularly by an Ail [4 Geo. III.] . . . for granting certain 
Duties . . . and by an Ad; [5 Geo. III.] for granting . . . 
Stamp Duties and other duties . . . which . . . are repre- 
sented to have been extended in such a Manner as to disturb 
legal Commerce and harass the fair Trader, have so far inter- 
rupted their Commerce that . . . the Means of Remittances 
and Payments are utterly lost and taken from them ; the 
Petitioners are . . . reduced to the Necessity of applying to 
the House in order to secure themselves and their Families 
from impending Ruin ; to prevent a Multitude of Manu- 
facturers from becoming a Burthen to the Community or else 
seeking their Bread in other Countries to the irretrievable 
Loss of this Kingdom ; to preserve the Strength of this 
Nation intire . . , and the Colonies from Inclination, Duty 
and Interest firmly attached to the Mother Country." 

The rest of the petitions were to the same effed:, coming 
from the Merchant Venturers of Bristol, the principal in- 
habitants of the County of Somerset, from Liverpool, Leeds, 
Warwick, etc. etc. Only two were from America : the 



Letter-Books^ 1 765-1 768. - 129 

Colonial Delegates at New York sent one, the other was 
" from William Middleton Esq and others, on behalf of them- 
selves and the rest of the Inhabitants and Owners of Property 
in South Carolina." William was the eldest of Sarah (Amory) 
Middleton's three sons ; he was agent in England for South 
Carolina, inherited Crowfield Hall, Suffolk, from his father's 
sister, Mrs. Browning, and died in 1775. The second son, 
Henry Middleton, who had been President of the Council in 
South Carolina, was President of the Congress of Odlober, 
1774. His son Arthur signed the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. His grandson Henry was Minister to Russia in 
1820 and 1832, and a great grandson, the late Nathaniel 
Russell Middleton, was a distinguished President of the 
University of Charleston. All the present South Carolina 
Middletons descend, I believe, from Sarah Amory 's son 
Henry ; her youngest son, Thomas, left only daughters and 
one son, who died unmarried. The English line from William 
seems also to have come to an end. 

[LVIIL] "Boston Nov. 13. 1765. To Messrs Bird & Smith. 
Pr Logic, Cap' Deverson. 

" Gentlemen 

" We received your favor with the Goods agreeable 
to Invoice — We suppose the Bills we have sent you will 
about balance our Account, which please to send us pr first 
Opportunity — We now inclose you a Memorandum for Goods 
which please to send us pr first good Opportunity with 
Insurance, provided the Stamp Ad: is repealed or suspended ; 
if not please to keep the Memorandum till we write you 
further about it. We are very apprehensive it that Aft is not 

s 



1 30 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

repeal'd that there will be a general Determination not only 
here but through out the Continent of America not to make 
use of any English manufadtures other than what absolute 
necessity requires, which will reduce the Importations from 
England to a mere Trifle to what they have been & must 
intirely put an End to our Trade with you. If this Adl is 
forc'd upon us we shall consider ourselves as no other than 
slaves without anything we can call our own. It must render 
disaffected to the English Government above a million of 
People who till now were Proud of being Englishmen & as 
firmly attach'd to the Interest of England as if they had been 
born there. After being deprived of our natural Liberties as 
Men, & our Privileges granted our Ancestors by Royal Charter, 
we shall be very indifferent who our foreign masters are & 
perhaps we may like them the least, who we once lov'd the 
best. 

" P.S. Be careful that all the white Ribbons be of a blue 
Cast, as no other will sell, & let 2/3 of the Leylock colour'd 
Ribbon be of the Shade of inclos'd Pattern, the rest a Shade 
lighter." 

[LIX.] " Boston Dec. 4. 1765. To Mr John White 

ccgr 

" We Rec'd yours pr Cap' Meliken. He has not as 
yet landed y° Pott Ash, we have taken in two Barrells from 
Mr Leonard. 

" The Vessells that are now bound to England & clear'd 
out regularly are full. Cap* Marshall is going soon but will 
not have a regular Clearance, & believe is full also, so that 



Letter-Books^ 1 765-1 768. 



Ill 



some people think there may be hazard — you must write us 
wether you would have it shipt in any Vessell that may offer 
& that may not be clear'd as formerly, & also what you would 
have done if no opportunity offers to write previously for 
Insurance. 

" We have heard of no Carts for Northfield." 

[LX.] " Boston Dec 20. 1765. To Messrs Barnards & 
Harrison. Pr Marshall & Hunter. 

" We have received your favour pr Cap : Scott. We now 
inclose you a small Memorandum for Goods which please to 
send us pr the first good Opportunity with Insurance, pro- 
vided the Stamp A<5t is sett aside, but if otherwise we would 
not have an Article sent us, but the Memorandum with the 
Patterns kept carefully for further Diredlions. 

" We can't think that the Merchants who deal to America 
will find it to their Interest to increase their Debts here by 
further Exportations, unless the Stamp A6t is repealed. The 
Resentment of the People here is at a very high Pitch, but 
will be much higher if not soon reliev'd. There will cer- 
tainly be a general Combination of all Ranks of People to 
throw off every sort of Luxury in Dress, which you must 
know will take in at least two thirds of our Imports from 
Great Britain. We hope you will be careful not to ship our 
Goods unless (as we have mentiond before) the Stamp Ad: is 
sett aside, as our honour is engaged herein, &c we should be 
really afraid of what might happen to our Goods, should they 
be sent us without a Regard to this Direftion ; There has 
been a general Combination, not to import any Goods, receive 
them upon Commission, or purchase them of any Stranger. 



132 "The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

People begin to Cloath themselves in our own manufactures, 
6c this must soon generally increase if we are not relieved. 
We are at present in a state of Anarchy, however we are 
petitioning our Governour & Council that our Courts may be 
open, which we think they must come into, as People seem 
determin'd to pay no Taxes to Government, if we are depriv'd 
of the Benefit of it." 

[LXI.] " Boston Dec. 20. 1765 To Milloway & Eyer. 
Pr Marshall & Galaspie, 

" We wrote you in November last for 40 or 50 ps. Rushia 
Drabs or Drillings w*^'' we now desire may not be sent unless 
y"^ Stamp Ad: be Repeal'd. In short our whole Trade must be 
lost if we are not Relievd — if the Aft is repeal'd you may send 
us w'*^ Insurance fifty ps of Dowlass sorted beginning pretty low. 

" Inclosd is Richard Gridley's Bill on James Fistler Esq 
^42 w'^'^ nearly ballances our Ace'. . . ." 

[LXIL] "Boston Dec. 20. J 765. To Rayner Dawson & Co. 

P. Marshall. 

" This serves to cover Messrs. Atkinson & Campbell's 
first bill on Messrs Simond & Hankey for ^^170 Stg w^** if 
paid please pass to our Credit. 

" Please to acquaint Messrs Coats that we have not as yet 
been able to get any part of their Money of Mr Apthorp, tho' 
we hope to soon. We are now intirely without Law so can 
only make use of gentle Arguments to get in our Debts. 

" There is now a general Agreement to Import no English 
Manufadlures unless y^ Stamp Adl be Repeal'd, as also to 
Receive no Goods on Commission nor purchase of those who 



Letter-Books^ 1765-1768. 133 

may bring them. In short we shall Do everything in our 
power not to be slaves. Our Trade to England will Certainly 
be Reduc'd to a Trifle if we are not Reliev'd." 

[LXIIL] "Boston Dec. 20. 1765. To Mr Edward Pitts 
Pr Marshall & Galaspie. 

" Inclos'd is Michael Franklin's bill on Mr Brook Watson 
for ^35 sterling w*^*" if pd please to pass to our Credit. In 
Case the Stamp Aft (by which [we] esteem our Rights 6c 
Liberties destroy'd) is Repeal'd to send us with Insurance 
" 100 doz N. 4 Pins 
25 doz — 12 do. 
8 doz — 10 do 
8 doz short Whites, 

" Yrs. " 

[LXIV.] "Boston Jan. 17. 1766. To Messrs. Barnard & 
Harrison. P"' Cap' Scott. 

" Since our last we have tried a few of your Silks at 
Vendue and altho the Sale was equal to our expectation yet as 
the Loss will be Considerable & you order us unless we can 
obtain saving prices or near them to keep them till further 
orders we shall not put up any more till we hear from you. 
We endeavour'd to get them off as high as possible by 
employing a person to bid that they might not be sold for a 
song. Six peices were sold, the Amount of which by Invoyce 
exclusive of Charges was ^2^ „ 5 Stg ; they yielded only 
^25 „ 13 Stg. This loss added to y' Charge of Importation 
etc. is Considerable. We can't expeft better sales at Vendue, 
perhaps not so good. We have put a number to retail Shops 



134 The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 

that are well Accustomed with Directions to sell a Gownd or 
half-peice & have fixed the price at about lo p Ct above the 
first Cost (exclusive of Charges) which we think the highest 
price they will bear & have agreed to allow 5 p C for selling 
— but a Loss must arise even in this way but can do no better 
with them. We much doubt their going off^ Quick at that 
price. Pray write us by the first Opportunity further about 
them. We are Desirous to do the best we can. 

" Inclosed is a Duplicate of Capt Galaspie's Bill of Lading 
for 8 Barrells of Pott Ashes. 

" We wrote you by Marshall that we had Bale Damag'd 
which came by him. Since w*^** have taken out a warrant for 
a survey on 5 ps of Cloth copy of which with y^ Return we 
now Inclose you as also the Vendue Master's Acdl by w*^'' you 
will find y" Loss much Less than valued they sold Indeed 
beyound Expedlation the five peices Cost ^(^38 „ 19 ,,3^, first 
Cost exclusive of Charges of Exportation w*^** must estimate 
at Lest \\ p C, you'l find much more than 5 p C on the 
Package. Mr Greenleaf tells [us] he remembers you told him 
y" average Loss was on y= Package, not the Invoyce, w'^'' in all 
Justice ought to be the Case as we seldom should obtain any 
Loss on Large Invoyces if it were otherwise. We hope your 
Care to obtain this Loss as we think we have taken proper 
Steps. Please to acquaint us in your Next wether we shall 
get the Loss Return'd us." 

[LXV.] " Boston Feb iS"' 1766. Messrs Kippen & Son 
P"" Ormond & Freeman. 
" Your letter of the 3"* of Dec'' 1765 together with 4 Casks 
of Snuff we receiv'd pr Cap: Bell. 



- Letter-Books, 1 765-1 768. 13^ 

"Inclosed you have a Bill of Exchange for ^50 Stg 
drawn by Nich' Jamieson on Glassford Gordon & Co : in 
favour of James Glassford which please to pass to the Credit 
of, Sirs, yours 

" P.S. Please to send us Ten Casks of SnufF if the Stamp 
Aft IS repealed or set aside; if there should be two Vessels 
commg please to send half by each ; if not the whole 
together. We hope your care to send none but the best." 

On the day when the next letter was written, the Sons of 
Liberty found a ship daring to come into port with a stamped 
clearance. They took the detested paper away from the 
Captain withm the very doors of the Custom House and 
burned it in King Street at the lower end of the Town 
House, with impressive ceremonies. 

[LXVI.] "Boston Feb 22"^ 1766. Messrs Devonshire & 
Reeve. P^ Omand. 
"We have before us your favor of 19'^ Oftober We 
heartily condole with you on the Loss of our Friend Mr 
Griffin. Although his ill health render'd Life not very 
desireable to him yet no Doubt it would have afforded to 
him as well as his Friends a great pleasure, had he been per- 
mitted once more to have seen his native Country. He has 
left behind him the best Charadler, that of an honest Man. 

" The Goods pr Capt Bartlett were agreeable to Invoice 
& to our liking. 

" Our Hopes from our late Acds from England of the 
Stamp Adt being repeal'd, induce us to send you a further 
Memorandum of Goods which we desire may be sent us if 



136 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

that A(5t be sett aside, but not otherwise. Please to get them 
insured. . . . We are with esteem, yours " 

[LXVIL] "Boston. March 31" 1766. Messrs Griffiths & 
Thomas. ?■■ Freeman & Mr Deblois. 

" This Day we receiv'd your favor of 8'*^ Jan : inclosg. our 
Ac(5t. Current, ballance in your favor ^^\,-, i ,, Stg. which Sum 
you'l receive with this from the Hands of our Friend Mr 
Gilbert Deblois. Please to send us Receipt in full. 

" As we have lately Imported Goods from Messrs Devon- 
shier & Reeves we think it proper to acquaint you with the 
reason of it, which was our being able to purchase Exchange 
to center with them when other Bills were not to be had. 
" We are Gentlemen with esteem 



[LXVIII.] " Boston, April 14''' 1766. Messrs Devonsheer & 

Reeve P'' Deverson. 

" We wrote you a few Days ago pr Cap: Freeman ; the 
Occasion of this is to recommend to you as a Customer, our 
Brother in Law Mr Timothy Newell who now writes to you 
for a few Goods. ' 

" This Gentleman by his own Industry has acquir'd a ' 
handsome Estate, & as the Trade he carries on is much within 
his Capital, we doubt not he will be able to pay you in season. 
We can freely recommend him as a Gentleman of the best 
Character for Prudence, Integrity and CEconomy & as he is 
not engaged in any hazardous Trade we think you may 
engage with him with as much safety as with any Person 
here. 



Letter-Books^ 1765-1768. 137 

" As we have but very lately had the Honour of a Cor- 
respondence with you ourselves We should not have taken the 
Freedom to have recommended another to you, had it not 
been in such an Instance as this where we can with so much 
confidence." 

[LXIX.] "Boston May 31'* 1766. Messrs Harrison & 
Barnard. P' Jarvis. 

"We have wrote you already pr this Conveyance. Cap: 
Jarvis being still detain'd we embrace the Opportunity of 
writing a Line in answer to that part of a Letter wherein you 
so much recommend a suitable Condudl upon our receiving 
the News of the Repeal of the Stamp Aft, & we are led to it 
more particularly at this time as we are apprehensive that the 
Speech which our Governour deliver'd two days since to the 
Assembly & which no doubt you'l have by this Vessel, may 
make an ill Impression upon the Minds of People with you 
who mayn't know the particular matters which he alludes to 
when he speaks of an ill Temper prevailing here &c. We 
can with Pleasure assure you that since our receiving the 
News of the Stamp A6f's being repeal'd the minds of People 
here are quieted, & not disposed in general to seek after 
Novelties ; but their Behaviour has been such as their Friends 
in England who were so willing to answer for their Conduct 
need not be ashamed of their Engagement." 

In spite of this assurance, honestly given, " the minds of 
the People " did cling to a " Novelty " so signally triumphant 
as their resistance to authority had proved to be. " The 
Americans," Burke observed, " in various ways demonstrated 

T 



138 "The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

their gratitude. I am bold to say that so sudden a calm re- 
covered after so violent a storm is unparalleled in history." 
There certainly were bonfires and rejoicings ; two Thanks- 
giving Days were kept within two months, sermons were 
preached, and Dr. Mayhew dedicated his to Mr. Pitt, as 
" an illustrious Patron of America." But Governor Bernard 
and Lieutenant Governor Hutchinson were hardly conscious 
of the calm which Burke praised. Both had laboured 
for repeal, but it brought them little credit. They stood 
in the town's view for an enemy once conquered who 
must be permitted no restoration. In every General Court 
from this time to the adlual Revolution, the King's repre- 
sentatives were met with a fixed hostility that made the 
sessions " almost one continued scene of strife and contention," 
and Hutchinson, in 1767, received an indemnity for the 
destruction of his house two years before only on condition 
of a pardon for all the rioters. " The claim of Parliament," 
/.?., the Declaratory Adt which accompanied the repeal, 
affirming Parliament's right to tax the Colonies, was set aside 
with such arguments as in the letter here following. The 
letter of November 14th, 1767, emphasizes the root of the 
colonies' lack of union, namely, that they had no aftual legal 
unity. 

[LXX.] " Boston June 16''^ 1766. Messrs Devonshier & 
Reeve. Pr. Bonney. 

'• The above is a small Memorandum for Goods which 
please to send us pr the first Opportunity with Insurance. 

" Since our last we have receiv'd your favor of 18'^ March, 
acquainting us with the Repeal of the Stamp A<S. We have 



Letter-Books^ i 765-1768. 139 

the highest Sense of the Assiduity & Kindness of our Friends 
in that most Important Concern & among whom we are 
sensible you have been the foremost ; And it is with par- 
ticular Pleasure we can assure you that there is now the 
fairest Prospeft that the Harmony & Affedlion which so long 
subsisted without the least Interruption till the Stamp A6t was 
pass'd will again take place, at least it is (we can assure you) 
the ardent wish of the People here. Their Minds are now 
quieted & not disposed in general to Novelties, but content 
that the Line of Dependance should rest where it now is, as 
we look upon the matter of internal Taxes as now settled not- 
withstanding the claim of Parliament. We can't the Wisdom 
& Policy of the Government will suffer them again to attempt 
even what we esteem our natural & inherent Rights or our 
Charter Priviledges, for should they, they must expe<St that 
we shall not be wanting in making every Effort to preserve 
our Freedom more dear to us than Life. We are thoroughly 
sensible that there is no Power on Earth with whom we could 
so well be connedled as with Great Britain, as almost all our 
Interests coincide, & as our Security depends upon her Fleets 
& Armies, maintain'd at an immense Charge; We are con- 
tent with a Restri(5tion on our Trade, especially that Part 
which it is most the Interest of Great Britain to exclude us 
from, we mean the Dutch & Northern Trade. We are 
sensible also that a state of Independence (could we obtain to 
it) would not probably be so well for us as our present Situa- 
tion ; & we see nothing but that the Colonies may continue 
their subjedion to England even long after they may arrive to 
a condition of casting off their Dependance, provided the 
Government there studies to gain their affeftions & govern 



I40 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

them with mildness. We are apprehensive that the speeches 
our Governour delivered lately at the opening of the Court, 
vi^herein he mentions an ill Temper prevailing &c. may tend 
to make an Impression to our disadvantage abroad when the 
particular matter to which he refers may not be known. The 
Governour has lost many Friends by these Speeches ; had he 
delivered himself in the mild & kind terms used by Secretary 
Conway whose Letter he had before him it would have 
tended much to have restor'd the Harmony & Quiet he seems 
so much to desire, however if the Answer of the Assembly & 
Council be read together with it, it will, we hope, prevent 
any ill EtFedl. 

" We are sorry that nothing has yet been done to make 
good the Loss of the Lieutenant Governour. It appears to be 
the general Desire to have it done, The Difficulties arise in 
the manner of doing it ; The People of Boston are Desirous 
of its being a Provincial Charge, but would esteem it a great 
Reproach as well as Injustice to have it thrown on them 
alone ; the Country Deputies are fearfull of offending their 
Constituents by bringing any part of the Charge on them. A 
Subscription has been talked of, but the Station the Lieutenant 
Governour fills (as Chief Justice of this Province) forbids that 
method. Notwithstanding these Difficulties we can't but hope 
the Gentleman will by some means or other meet with Relief" 

[LXXI.J " Boston July 2"^^ 1766. Messrs Devonshier & 

Reeve. 

"... Our Brother Thomas Amory having occasion for 
some Goods from Bristol we have advis'd him to your House. 
We can recommend him as a Person we think you may deal 



Letter-Books^ 1 765-1 768. 141 

with with the greatest safety & whom we doubt not will pay 
you to your satisfadtion." 

[LXXIL] "Boston Nov. li^^ 1767. To Messrs John, Samuel 

& Thomas Coates 

" We reed yours with y° Letter to Mr Mollineux which 
we have deliv'd. We find by talking with him that you have 
nothing further to expeft from him. If Mr Gould pays us 
anything we shall carefully remitt to you. 

" We are surprized you should urge us further to colled: 
Debts for you at New York after what we wrote you ; which 
was that we were not acquainted with any Person there, & 
that it would be full as easy by enquiring in London for you 
to find some Person you might confide in, as for us. 

" You say in your Letter that altho' we may have no 
acquaintance at York, there are many attorneys in Boston we 
can depend upon. We know of no advantage that would 
result from our knowledge of Attorneys, as adlion cannot be 
Brought in our Courts against Persons at New York, so that 
we are at a loss for your meaning in this. 

" Your humble Serv*^ 

" JoN'^ & John 

. , - , " Amory." 

In 1767, the year of the birth of his eldest son, Thomas 
Amory paid a bilP"^^ for " i Silver Punch Strainer, w' 4:7:0," 
and for the "fashioning" of it " >C^7 " 7 ^^^ tenor." As made 
on the spot this, we may hope, did not come under the censure 
passed that year by the Town Meeting on all return to a luxury 
involving large importations from England, which meant 



142 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

paying — more or less — the detested duties, and also exhaust- 
ing the resources of the colony. Edward Payne and Timothy 
NewelH''^ were in these years often on the Town Committees. 

[LXXIII.] "Boston Dec i. 1767, Messrs Harrison Barnard 
& Spragg. Pr Freeman & Calfe. 

" We now Inclose you our Memorandum for the Spring 
w''' we desire may be sent us with Insurance pr the first 
Opportunity. We pray your Care that we may have our 
Goods early but more especially the Calicoes as they will be 
wanted First. We must beg leave to observe to you that your 
attention to Purchase everything on the Best terms is now 
peculiarly necessary as the Profits upon Trade are almost re- 
duced to nothing, & the Rivalship among the sellers greater 
than ever. We hope we shan't have occasion to complain of 
the Dearness of any of the Articles as we have been obliged 
concerning some in our Last Letters. We would have all our 
Insurances made in such a manner that a Loss of 3 p. C. on 
each Package may be recover'd w*^*^ Mr Haley informs us is 
his method. You have again mistook us with regard to the 
Waled or Twill'd Alamode, it ought to have been a Kerrey 
Wale, which is very Common for Alamodes design'd for 
Cravats. We have not at present any of it by us or should 
have sent you a Pattern of what we mean. 

" We now Inclose you Duplicates of Phillip Jacobs Bill 
on Hunter & Bayley >Ch°' Chas. Abbot on Rob. Travers 
^50, as also Mr Jno Hancock's Bill on Mr Geo. Haley N. 40 
for >C^°° of w*:*" ;C35° belongs to Mr W"" Gale & ^^180 to 
Mr Moses Parsons junr. & the Remainder being ^70 to our- 
selves, Please to Credit accordingiy. — Mr Stephen Greenleaf 



Letter-Books^ 1765-1768. 143 

does not send you any Memorandum for the Spring, not that 
he has sent to any other House, but that the Trade in English 
Goods has so alter'd for the worse that he proposes to desist 
from any further Importations w'^** we think is Best. We 
doubt not his Care to compleat the Payment of what he owes 
you by the spring of the year." 

[LXXIV.] "Boston Dec 30. 1767. Messrs Hughes & 
Whitelock. P. Capt Hall. 

" We have now before us yours of the 22^^ of July since 
which we have not been favour'd with anything from you. 
. . . Messrs Rayner & Dawson have wrote us that they have 
repeatedly requested you to pay the Money that we desir'd 
you to pay them but without Effect. You must be sensible. 
Gentlemen, the disadvantage it must be to Our Credit w'** 
them to be thus treated. 

" We observe what you say of your Intention to purchase 
some Bohea Teas in Sepf. Why you should defer purchasing 
till that time we are at a Loss, as large Quantitys were sent 
here Purchased before that Time, we suppose at the Sales. 
We must observe that in our Letter of Feby. 16^'': last we de- 
sir'd that in case you could not purchase Bohea Teas to y* best 
advantage, that you would pay what remains you might have 
in your Hands to Messrs Harrison Barnard & Co. this we think 
you ought to have done rather than have kept it so long by 
you. We have only to add our desire that you would send us 
by the first Opportunity our Ace' Current accompanied with 
Ace' of Sales of the Pott and Pearl Ashes by the Cleopatra, as 
also those by Capt Hatch & Calf — & that whatever Money 
you may have of ours you would pay to our Freinds Mess''\ 



144 ^-^'^ Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Harrison Barnard & Spragg, together with the Interest for the 
time it has been in your hands which you cant but think is 
reasonable. We should have wrote you sooner had we not 
been waiting a Long time for the arrival of the Cpts, Dever- 
son & Shand, expelling you might have wrote us & perhaps 
sent us the Teas by them but as they are now Missing Vessels, 
we desire if you did write us by them you would send us the 
copies of your Letters, as also if any Goods were sent us b/^ 
them & there should be a Loss that you would recover the 
Insurance & pay it as we have desir'd above to Mess", Harri- 
son & Co. — We should be glad of a line from you by the first 
opportunity & remain — Yours Sec. " 



[LXXV.] " Boston, April i8. 1768. George Hayley 
P Wilson & Scott. 

" Our last was the aS'"* March since which we have re- 
ceiv'd your favours by the Captains Scott & Freeman. 

" We now send you a Certificate for the Tea p. Cap' Scott. 
Inclos'd you have Duplicate of Jno Coffin's Bill in favour of 
Caleb Coffin on yourself for jC'°° Sterlg if not honor'd please 
to return p first Opportunity with Protest. 

" We have now to desire you would send us the following 
Articles which are for our own Use, therefore pray your par- 
ticular Attention & that they may come by the very first 
Vessel as they are immediately wanted. Viz': 3 ps Copper 
plate Furniture printed Cottons to Contain ab' 28 yds in a p. 
a Crimson on a white Ground to be of a handsome figure, a 
rural scene with Men, trees, Animals etc with Lace Trim- 
ming, Tassels, &c. compleat for a Bed, Curtains & Cushings 



Letter-Books, 1765-1768. 145 

for four Windows; the Curtains both of Bed & Windows to 
draw up. 

" 2 Handsome Marble Hearths white Marble & well 
polish'd, one of them 6 feet 2 inches by 20 inches, the other 
5^ feet by 18 inches also four small peices for the Sides, Vizt 
2 of them 10 inches by 12, & 2 of them 12 Inches 
Square. ^ 

"A Mohagany Case with i doz. Ivory handle Knives & i 
doz Forks & places for Six Spoons, let the Ivory be White & 
the Blades Good. 

" I Basket for Wine Glasses. 

" 7 Roles of a handsome Paper for an Entry & Stair Case, 
the Entry 6c Stair way is wainscotted Chair high. Messr. 
Lane & Co. sent one to Mr Rowe which we like very well ; 
it 's a buff colour'd Ground, printed in Imitation of Piftures 
at a Considerable Distance from each other, if you'l be so kind 
as to enquire of them no doubt they can tell you where the 
same pattern may be had. 

" I 3 yds very best Bedtick, a Narrow Stripe. Please to let 
the Colour of the Printed Cotton be as near the Pattern as you 
can get, we are particular in mentioning this that you may 
avoid sending Scarlet. We hope you'l excuse the Trouble we 
give you in these Little matters." 

[LXXVL] " Boston, May 1 2'^ 1 768. Leatham Walker & Co. 

Scott & Davies. 

" Our last was y^ 16''': April. We propose to send by the 
Brigg Lydia, James Scott Mr. six hundred Mill'd Dollars, 20 
half Johannes, & thirty Guineas \v^^ will amt to abt ^("205 
Sterlg please to get >(^2io insured thereon: she is a good 

u 



146 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Vessel & has a very Good Master so hope you may get it 
done @ 25/p C as it last summer was done on Cash, however 
if can't at that price get it as low as you can. We now 
desire you would send us with Insurance 

" See Order Book 

" please to ship them as Early in Aug' as you can. We 
are under Engagem'^ to receive no Goods shipt after September 
so that if not shipt before that time must be Omitted. The 
kind of Linnens you sent us suit our sale, be pleas'd therefore 
to send the same Kind. A sort is sent sometimes folded flatter 
which dont answer." 

[LXXVII.] "Boston, June 18. 1768. Messrs Har. Bar. & 

Spragg. Capt Brett. 

"... You would oblige us if you would aquaint us in 
your Next which kind of Gold best suits the London Market 
as it frequently happens when we can neither obtain Bills of 
Exch^ or Dollars we should be Glad to remitt you in that 
specie but are prevented by being uncertain whether it will 
answer. Please to acquaint us with the particular prices of 
the several Species of Gold. — We propose to ship you p. 
Brigantine Hannah, Rob* Jarvis Master two Hundred Pounds 
Sterling in Cash, on which please to get Insurance made. The 
Vessel is a prime sailor & the Master an Experienced Captain. 
Please to make the Insurance conditionally for if we can meet 
with Exch* we shall prefer it to sending the Cash." 






CHAPTER XI. 

Letter-Books, 1768- 1773. 

^^^^^N the next letter " what had happened here relat- 
ing to the Commissioners," was John Hancock's 
smuggling some wine, brought in, June loth, by 
his sloop the " Liberty," and the mob's taking 
vengeance for the seizure of the sloop on the Comptroller, 
Colledlor, and Inspeftor General, as well as on their property. 
This being known in England, the July packet brought orders 
that one or two regiments, then at Halifax, should be quartered 
in Boston. There was more than one riot during the summer, 
a Convention was held instead of the Assembly, which the 
Governor refused to summon, and a request was made at the 
September Town-Meeting that the inhabitants should "pro- 
vide themselves with fire-arms that they may be prepared in 
case of sudden danger." By the ist of Odlober, however, 
twelve men-of-war were anchored in the harbour, and a 
thousand soldiers marched up King Street, some on their way 
to the Common or Faneuil Hall, but some to be quartered in 
the Town-House, both upstairs where the Assembly was 
accustomed to meet, and below in the Merchants' Exchange. 



148 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

[LXXVIIL] "Boston July 1 1'" 1768. Messrs Harrison 
Barnard & Spragg. [p. Capt.] Hull. 

"... We desir'd you in our last to get Insur'd for us 
jTaoo Sterling by Brig^ Hannah Capt Robert Jarvis & we now 
desire you would get Insur-d for us ^(^300 more in addition to 
the other on the same Vessel, being for Cash we propose to 
send by him if no Bills offer. You'l please therefore to make 
the Insurance Conditionall. Mrs Jane Gillam desires you 
would get Insur-d for her £j<) Sterlg in cash she proposes to 
send you by the same vessel. 

" From what has happened here relating to the Com- 
missioners &c we think it not Improbable that New Dif- 
ficulties may arise to the hurt if not to the ruin of Trade. We 
therefore desire that in case any Goods we have wrote for 
should not be purchas'd when you receive this & there should 
be an appearance of Violent Measures being likely to take 
place that you would not send them. Should a soldier be sent 
to America in support of y'^ Commissioners the Consequences 
will be in all probability an Entire Stoppage of Trade. As 
our Intentions are to pay our Debts, let what will happen in a 
public way, we shall be careful not to Import any thing more 
Considerable till Things are more settled, which we heartily 
wish for. We wrote you some time ago that we should 
undertake the Payment of Mr Parsons Debt to you & that we 
had taken to ourselves the Goods sent him this spring. This 
has been occasioned not by our wanting any Goods for we 
were Crowded at the same time with our own — but as the 
Difficulties of Trade has so increased Lately & in all Prob- 
ability like to be Greater we were desirous to secure to you 



Letter-Books^ 1768-1773. 149 

the payment of the Goods you sent him if not quite within 
season, yet sooner than what he would have been able to have 
made it. In order to this we have taken near two thousand 
Sterling of Goods Exclusive of those sent him this spring as 
we found that unless he sold them on Credit to persons who 
could not be depended upon that his vent was no ways equal 
to the Quantity he Imported. We found many of the Goods 
as well as some we had of Mr Greenleaf Excessive dear which 
undoubtedly was the occasion of the slow vent they had for 
them. In the small article of Fans we find the plain Ebony 
which were never charg'd at more than 4/ & the painted 
at 5/ are charg.d Mr Parsons at 4/3 & 5/6. We shall exped a 
Consideration therefore upon a Settlement. Had we not en- 
gaged for these goods our paym' to you would probably be 
near if not quite as much in season as usual, but the Taking 
of three or four thousand pounds Sterling worth ot Goods 
which we had no Occasion for & have now mostly by us will 
make our paym'^ this year beyond the usual Time but as our 
Importation will be but Tritiing & we propose to send but for 
little for the Spring, we hope to lay not very long beyond the 
usual Time in your Debt, Please not to fail to send ours, Mr 
Greenleaf's, Mr Parsons' Acdl Current by the first Oppor- 
tunity." 

[LXXIX.] "Boston July I I'h 1768. Mess'^ Rayner Dawson 
& Co. Hall & Jarvis. 

"Our last was 23"* of May soon after which we reed, 
what remained due from Mr William Greenleaf. . . . This 
Money we have now & are afraid shall be oblig.d to keep by 
us for your orders as Bills of Exch^ which are to be depended 



150 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

upon are not to be had. If any offer more than what we want 
to purchase for ourselves we shall procure them for you. We 
have a Thousand Sterling Cash by us that we cant get Bills 
for & are now shipping Money to London on our own Acd:, 
altho' we Expedt some Loss in it." 

[LXXX.] "Boston Aug 24'^ 1768. George Hayley Esq. 

Folger and Stone. 

"... Please to send us pr the very first good Opportunity 
abt 70 yds fine yellow Worsted Damask, a handsome large 
Flower, a bright full yellow, for Curtains and Window 
Cushions, for 4 Windows & to cover the Chairs. Please to 
send Fringes, Tossils & other Trimmings necessary therefor. 
Pray your care that it have a good Gloss & is of a bright Col' 
being for ourselves Please also to send with it 2 more Roles of 
the same Paper of which we desired you in our Letter of 
April last to send us Seven Roles, as we find we shant have 
enough. Please to be carefull that it be exactly the same, 
being to go with it." 

[LXXXL] "Boston Aug' 31^* 1768. Mr Geo. Hayley. 

Stone. 

"... Please to send us by the first vessel Six Handsome 
Stuff Back Chairs, cov.d with yellow worsted Damask Exaftly 
the same as the 70 yds wrote for in the foregoing provided 
they can be had Compleat Covering & everything included (^ 
30/ or 2)Zl P^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^y JTiust Exceed that price omitt 
them. 

" Your freinds & humble Serv'^" 



Letter-Books, 1768-1773. 151 

[LXXXII.] " Boston Sept^ 26. 1768. Mess" Nath & Robert 
Denison. Jacobson & Scott. 

". . . The present Scituation of public affairs are such as 
that we shall not probably send you any Mem° for a Long time 
unless the Government adopt another System of Politicks the 
Trade with the Colonies will infallibly be lost. We only want 
to be treated as Englishmen. We dont even wish for Inde- 
pendence ; the King has not more loyall Subjefts in his 
Dominions. All we Contest is the Right of parliam' to tax us 
without our Consent. By the same Right that they can take 
a penny they can take our all. Unless this Claim is given up 
we are but Slaves & shall be lead to hate that people who we 
once Esteem. d as a part of ourselves. 

" But whatever turn public affiiirs may take we hope 
Freinship & Regard with our particular Freinds will always 
mutually subsist." 

[LXXXIIL] " Boston, Odl 3'J 1768. Mr Robert Bird. 

Scott. 

". . . Our Town is now full of Soldiers sent here to inforce 
Afts of parliamt destructive of our Rights." 

[LXXXIV.] " Boston Odl. 4. 1768. Scott. 

" The following is a Copy of a Letter sent to Mess""' Lane 
Son & Frazier; Mess. Killy & Sime ; Charles Broughton. 

" Your favour of the 5'^ Aug' is now before us. We 
Esteem ourselves oblig-d to you for your offers of supplying 
us, but beside that we are already engaged with Mr Hayley 
who has served us to our Satisfaction, the present situation of 



152 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

our public affairs forbid us to Engage in any further 
Importations. 

" Unless a New System of Politicks is adopted Great 
Britain will Infallibly Loose her Trade to the Colonies. 

" This Town is now full of Soldiers sent here to Enforce 
an Adt of Parliamt subversive of our Natural Rights, & the 
Freedom of Englishmen. We Entertain no Thought of 
opposing the king's Troops. The People here retain their 
Loyalty & Affedlion for the King & dont even wish for an 
Independence but they are determind not to be the Slaves of 
their fellow subjefts in Great Britain. 

" As both Right 6c Reason as well as the True Interest of 
Great Britain loudly speak for us, we dont yet despair of 
Redress in a Legal Way. But if the Parliam' are determind 
we shall be Slaves the Consequences must be the Immediate 
Loss of Trade, which all the Troops they can send wont 
prevent (but must rather hasten) the Loss of our Affecftion, 
which must certainly be of the highest Moment, & un- 
doubtedly in the End the Loss of the Colonies themselves." 

[LXXXV.] "Boston Oa. 21. 1768. Mr Edward Pitts 
Capt Cole & Johnson. 

" This Encloses you J"° Butler's Bill on Watson Olive & 
Rashleigh for jTiao Stg. out of which please to pass to our 
Credit X,^8i „ 18/ which is the exaft Ball^ of your Ace' by our 
Books. Please to pay Mess'^ Wright & Gill the Rem^ being 
Thirty Eight Pounds 2/. 

" We have now done with Importations from Great 
Britain, her Trade with the Colonies must be Lost unless she 
adopts New Measures. The Town is now full of Soldiers. 



Letter-Books^ 1 768-1 773. ' 153 

This serves only to fix the Resolution of the people here who 
are determin-d to have as little Conneftion as possible with a 
State who contrary to the plainest principle of Right are 
Endeavouring to Enslave them. We dont even wish for an 
Independency, but we would not be Slaves. 

" Should Times alter we should with pleasure resume a 
Correspondence which has been very agreeable to us." 



[LXXXVL] "Boston, Oct 29. 1768. Mess" Nath & 
Robert Denison 

" This Day we rec'' yours of the 26 Aug'. We are sorry 
you have been so alarm. d with a false Ace'. The people here 
Entertain no Thoughts of Opposing the King's Troops, they 
dont even wish for an Independency if it was in their power. 
All they seek for is to be treated as Englishmen & not as 
Slaves. The whole Contest rests on this single point, whether 
the British Parliament has a Right to tax them (for the pur- 
pose of a Revenue, not as Regulating Trade) without their 
Consent. Untill this point is given up on One Side or the 
Other, there can no harmony subsist. It is our Opinion the 
Americans to the latest Generation will never give it up, 
being Sensible that if this Principle is Establish. d, they are 
reduc.d by the Utmost Injustice to a State of Slavery for if the 
Parliament of Britain can take a penny from us without our 
Consent they may rob us of our whole property. Is this 
freedom, is this the footing on which Englishmen stand .? 
Surely not. Troops may compel us to the payment of any 
particular Duties that may be laid upon us, but all the Forces 
of Great Britain cant oblige an American to purchase a New 

X 



154 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Coat when he chooses to wear an old one & it is in this way 
that we hope to find redress. 

" We are now under an Engagement to Import no more 
Goods until we are releiv'd. Great Britain will certainly in a 
Great Measure if not totally loose her Trade to the Colonies 
unless she adopts a New System of Politicks, which we make 
no doubt she will soon find it her Interest to do — for it seems 
we have little Reason to Expeft that any other Arguments 
will be Attended to. 

"The whole Amount of the Duties here which have been 
Collefted for the last Nine Months as we are told & believe, 
& on ac6t. of which so much Difficulty has arisen, is only 
Twenty Two Thousand Pounds Sterlg, out of which Sixteen 
Thousand have been paid away for Salaries &c, although the 
Commissioners have not as yet paid themselves their own 
Salaries which are >C5°° Sterlg a piece, so that Great Britain 
can never reasonably Expedl to reap any Material Advantage 
in this Way, for should she add New Duties, or inhance those 
already laid, in order to Increase the Revenue, the Eff'edt will 
rather be the Disuse of the Articles on which the Duties are 
laid, or the Manufadluring them among Ourselves. This 
shews itself at present in the Article of Tea, which Thousands 
of Families have allready thrown up y^ Use of, tho: it was 
what they were peculiarly attach-d to. In short, the people 
here will forego any Convenience rather than continue any 
Trade with a people who, as they Esteem it, are Endeavouring 
to deprive them of all they hold Valuable. The sending over 
Troops only serves to fix the people in their resolutions, & you 
may rely upon it, till the Soldiery are withdrawn all Importa- 
tion of British Manufacture must Cease, for the Merchts here 



Letter-Books^ 1 768-1 773. 153 

will not send for these & the people Universally determine 
not to Consume any that may be sent ouer for Sale. We have 
not time to Enlarge but can only say w^e heartily wish for an 
End of these Troubles, when we shall with pleasure resume a 
Correspondence which has been very agreeable to us. In the 
mean time you may rely upon our Care to make our payments 
as they become due. We have allready sent you a Bill to 
replace that of Mr Spooner. 

" We remain with the Greatest Esteem your Freinds & 
Serv^" 

[LXXXVIL] "Boston Nov. 18. 1768. Mess^' Robert & 
Nathan Hyde. Deverson & Sheppard. 

"... The Town is now full of Soldiers, who tho : the 
Stridlest Discipline is kept up among them so that few Dis- 
orders have happened, yet their being here serves only to 
Imbitter the Minds of the People and strengthen their resolu- 
tions . . ." 

[LXXXVIII.] " Boston Dec. 9. 1768. Mess'^ Brice Wheeler 

& Higginson. 

" This will be handed to you by Capt Bruce who acquaints 
us that you deal largely in India Goods, & tells us that he 
thinks it probable that it might be agreeable to you to supply 
us with those kind of Goods, & that you can do it on the very 
best Terms. If from what Capt Bruce should say of us, you 
should be inclin.d to supply us, we should esteem it a favour 
if you would acquaint us with your Terms & the particular 
kind of Goods you deal in. As we dont propose to pay a 
Commission we only expeft from you Goods in your own 



156 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

way. The present unhappy Situation of Political Matters be- 
tween Great Britain & America prevents us at present from 
any Importation, but we hope the Government with you will 
soon discern its true Interest, & give up y^ thoughts of extort- 
ing a Tax which must alienate y' Affedions of the Americans 
from Great Britain, as they esteem such Arbitrary Taxes in- 
consistent w^h^ the yery idea of Liberty. When this shall 
take place, which we hope will be soon, we shall resume our 
Trade. 

" If you should desire a further Information of us than 
what you may have from Capt Bruce you may enquire of 
Mess'' Wright & Gill, Stationers in London with whom we 
have dealt these many years. 

" Please to inform us what Advantages or Discounts we 
may have for prompt pay." 

[LXXXIX.] "Boston Aug 2"d 1769. Mess" Brice Wheler 
& Higginson. pr Mr Eliot. 

"Gentlemen, The foregoing we wrote to you by Capt 
Bruce whom probably before this you may have seen. 

" The present Situation of Publick Affairs still debars us 
from sending for any Goods. However, as our Friend Mr 
Samuel Eliot was going to England, we have desir'd him to 
wait on you with this, to know your Sentiments upon the 
Subjedt of our former Letter. 

"Tho: we have not had the Pleasure of an Acquaintance 
with you ourselves, yet as Cap* Bruce has promis'd to make us 
known to you, we take the Freedom to recommend to you 
Mr Eliot, as a Gentleman who if you incline to deal to 
America we think you may credit with the greatest safety. 



Letter-Books^ 1 768-1 773. 157 

As he was brought up in our Store we know hun throughly 
& are well satisfied of his Integrity, Industry & Capacity for 
Business in which he has been successful. 

"We are etc." 

[XC] "Boston Aug 2"''. 1769. Mr Samuel Eliot. 

" Sir, As you are now bound for England, we beg Leave 
in the first Place to assure you of our best Wishes, & hopeing 
that you may reap ev'ry Advantage of Pleasure & Profit that 
you can promise yourself. ... 

" In case publick Affairs take such a Turn as Goods may 
be sent, please to purchase for us two compleat sets of finest 
Blue & White India China, each set to consist of 12 cups and 
12 saucers, 8 Coffee cups with Handles, 2 Tea Pots, a Cream 
Pot, a Sugar Dish, a Slop Bowl, 2 small Plates for Sugar Dish 
& Slop Bowl, a Tea Canister, Spoon Boat & Coffee Pot. 2 
dozen Wine-Glasses for Mr Payne like the Pattern. . . . We 
send by you 5 light Johannes, & 5 light Guineas to purchase 
the Things for our own Use. If you send the other Things, 
please also to send a good Glass to view Prospedts thro', (with 
a Number of good Prints) for John Amory, of the sort you 
best like, that requires the least Trouble to fix & can be lookt 
into with most Ease. He thinks the concave looking Glass 
may do best, but leaves it to your Judgement. 

" We are with much Esteem 6cc." 

[XCL] "Boston, Aug. 18. 1769. Mr, Thos. Mifflin. 

p. Post [to Philadelphia]. 
"Sir 

" We were shown by Mrs Eliot a Paragraph of a 



158 The Descendants of Hugh A}?iory. 

Letter you wrote her husband, who sail'd for England last 
Week. 

" As Mr Eliot's Letter to you to w*^*^ yours is an Answer 
was wrote you partly by our Desire, & as we must confess 
ourselves still somewhat in the Dark as to your Sentiments 
upon the Subjedl upon w'^^ he wrote, we take the Freedom of 
Troubling you with this, to request a further Explanation of 
the Matter. 

" We observe in your Committee's Letter to Dr Franklin 
[then agent in London for several of the Colonies] they inti- 
mate that nothing less than the repeal of all the Revenue Ad:s 
will quiet the Minds of y^ Americans. 

" But in the Agreement of the Merchants, tho' they use 
the word Ad:s (in y" Plural) yet they only specify a Number 
of Articles, all of w'^^ are comprised in one Aft. 

" We observe that you say in your Letter that the New 
Yorkers have confounded the Tea & Glass Adls. This Ex- 
pression of yours makes us something in Doubt whether you 
may not have conceiv'd that Duties were laid upon Tea & 
upon Glass, Paper & Colours, by two distind: Afts, otherwise 
we are at a Loss to know what you would mean by saying the 
Yorkers had confounded them. If you'l examine, Sir, you'l 
find that they are all concluded in one Aft. We are sensible. 
Sir, that the Agreement at Virginia runs in the same Terms 
as your's Vizt : ' Until the Afts laying Duties on Tea, Glass, 
Paper &c are repeal'd.' It appears extraordinary to us that if 
the Intention was not to Import till all the Revenue Afts, that 
is till the Aft laying Duties on Tea, Glass &c, & the Aft 
commonly call'd the Molasses Aft were repeal'd, that they 
should as it were carefully avoid mentioning any of the many 



Letter-Books, 1 768-1773. 159 

Articles tax'd by the Molasses Adl & at the same time men- 
tion almost every Article in the Tea A<51. There can be no 
Doubt that the Molasses A<51 is as much a Revenue Adt as the 
Tea A61, & indeed it is said expressly in the Body of the Adl 
to be for the Purposes of a Revenue, but had it not been [said] 
the very Nature of it determines it to be such as it lays Duties 
on many Articles of English Produce, & so cannot be con- 
ceiv'd as purely for the Regulating of Trade. These two Afts 
are all the Revenue A6ts we know of. Now Sir, what we 
desire of you is to let us know, whether if the Tea Glass & 
Paper Ad: only, should be repeal'd & even tho' the Molasses 
Adl or at least so much of it as appears purely to relate to a 
Revenue should not be repeal'd, jom expeSi to have your Goods 
sent. If so, please to inform us what was intended by making 
use of the word Adls instead of Aft. In case you should not 
be entirely satisfied what the Intention of the Merchants is, 
we should esteem it a Fav'r if you would acq' yourself from 
the Committee & favour us with a Line by the Return of the 
Post which will confer an obligation on your most humble 
Servants &c. 

" P.S. The A61 we mean by the Molasses A<ft is of the 
4'*': of George 3"*:, made in Nov'"': 1763, laying Duties on 
Molasses, Sugars, Wines, Coffee etc. 

" P.S. Please to acquaint us whether the Merchants have 
sent conditional Orders for Goods. If so, whether you have 
one form prescribed for all the Merchants to write by or 
whether each one expresses the Conditions in the Manner he 
pleases. If you have one Form for the whole, pray send a 
Copy of that Form." 



i6o The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

[XCII.] " Boston Aug i8. 1769. Mr Samuel Eliot. 

p. Bartlett. 

"Sir 

". . . Little has occur'd since your Absence worth Notice, 
W' has most been the subjeft of Conversation has been the 
Publication of the Names of some Persons who had imported 
contrary to the Agreement, & w'^'^ you'l find in the Papers. 
Among them was Mess''^ Clarke & Son, who were so distress'd 
about it that they came to the Committee, begging that some- 
thing might be publish'd to take off the odium cast upon 
them, & consenting to deliver up their Teas to the Com- 
mittee. 

"You'l find Mr. Mein in his Paper of Yesterday to avenge 
himself has publish'd the Names of the Importers in one of 
the Spring Vessels & declares he shall go on to publish the 
Rest ; & altho' his Party can avail themselves but little this 
way, as the Articles imported by the signers were either per- 
mitted or of little Consequence yet it has occasion'd the highest 
Resentment against him in the Breasts of most People, and no 
doubt will prove the greatest Injury to him in his Business. 

" By the last Post Mrs Eliot (who is very well & now 

writes you) rec"* a Letter from Mrs Mifflin in answer to yours. 

Mrs Eliot show'd us a Paragraph w^'' related to the matter 

you wrote about, but tho' he says much on the Subjedt we are 

still as much in the dark as ever. It appears to us that he 

takes the Duties on Tea to have been laid in one Adt & those 

on Glass in another. However, we have this Day wrote him 

ourselves on y'' Subjeft, so clearly that we think he cannot 

mistake us. 

" Yours &c." 



Letter-Books^ 1768-1773. i6i 

[XCIII.] " Boston. Sep. 21. 1769. Mr. Samuel Eliot. 

Cap. Nicoll. 

"The foregoing is Copy of our last since which we have 
reed, an answer from Mr Mifflin who writes us that the 
Merch'* at Philadel^ in General had thought that the Tea 6c 
Glass &c were in two distindl Adls ; that they had committed 
a capital Error in not having a Regard to the Molasses A6f, 
that it Probably yet would be taken into Consideration &c. 

" The Committee here have wrote to their Committee on 
the subjedl, 6c as Probably an Endeavour will be made to 
Accomplish this we exped: it will be sum time before leave 
can be had for sending even Conditional Orders. The temper 
of people is full as high if not higher agst the Importers 6cc 
as when you left us, upon the whole we cant think it will be 
your Interest (in the long Run) to counteradl the Design by 
bringing Goods till there is a general Importation. We shall 
write you again on this Subjedl if anything New offers. 

" We would not have you send the things for our own use 
unless there is a general Importation. 

" We suppose you have talked before this with Mr 
Hayley on the subjedt of Mr Winslow Taylor. We should be 
glad you would endeavour to know of him whether he has 
wrote on the subjedl. If you find he has not agreed to acquit 
him on receiving his Proportion, perhaps you may be able to 
prevail upon him to do it, representing to him that unless he 
is acquitted he must be lost to the World as he cannot engage 
in any thing. In this you'l do a great kindness to Mrs Taylor 
as well as particularly oblige us. 

** Yours." 

Y 



i62 'The DescendaJits of Hugh A?nory. 

[XCIV.] " Boston OQi. 21. 1769. Mr Samuel Eliot. 

p. Capt Lyde. 
"Sir 

"... Things still remain as uncertain as ever with 
Regard to Importation. An attempt is now making to obtain 
a Subscription not to import until all the Revenue Adls are 
repeal'd ; whether or not it will take Place is uncertain. 
Should it obtain here, it will no doubt be on Condition (tho* 
it is not express'd in the Agreement) that Philadelphia & 
York join in it. We have not as yet sign'd it, tho' a great 
Number of Hands are already to it, but have assur'd the Com- 
mittee that if it should become in our Opinion sufficiently 
general we shall sign it — w^** we shall be careful not to do if 
such openings are left as have been heretofore for particular 
Merch*^ such as Mr Jackson &c to carry on an exclusive 
Trade. The Influence of those who are against Importation 
is now greater than ever you knew it, w*^"^ you may suppose 
from their having induced ev'ry Person who before stood out 
to come in except Mein & McMasters. There appears at 
present no Probability of Orders being sent for Goods for the 
Spring (ev'n after January) unless the Tea Aft is repeal'd & 
perhaps not unless both Afts. Altho' our Int'rest may be 
concern'd, yet we doubt not you'l beleive us when we assure 
you that we think that it will not be your or any of the N. E. 
Gentlemen's Int'rest who are with you to import untill the 
Trade is open for all. . . ." 

[XCV.] " Boston Nov. 20. 1769. Mr Sam' Eliot. Smith. 
" Sir, We had the Pleasure a few Days ago of hearing of 



Letter-Books^ 1 768-1 773. 163 

your safe Arrival. We are now forming our Mem° for Goods 
w^'' we shall send you but whether the Condition of their 
being sent will be the Repeal of both Adls or Not, is still 
uncertain. We are daily exped:ing to hear the Resolutions of 
York & Philadelphia on the Subjedt. We cant but repeat 
w* we wrote before, that we think it absolutely necessary both 
for you & us to go with the Tide, indeed there is no stem- 
ming it. If any Importation should be made contrary to the 
general Agreement the Goods will be housed. Mr Richard 
Smith, we are told, assur'd the Committee that altho' as his 
goods are purchas'd they must come, yet that when they 
arrive he shall submit them. 

"As soon as our Papers are compleat, w^'^ may be in a 
Week or ten Days we shall forward them — 

" Yours." 

The following has descended among John's private papers : 
"Boston, 1768. Mr Jn° Amory to Jn° S. Copley D''. 

To his own Portrait, half Length £\\. o. o. Nov. 24'*^ 
1769 Paid as pr Receipt in Book."^'"' 

Before the end of November John Hancock was writing ^''^ 
to a London merchant of "the late Importations made here 
by Several Persons of this Town, which circumstances taking 
place at the only important moment that it should have been 
avoided, I must say Refleds great [word omitted] on the 
Importers. After many considerations of the Trade on this 
subjedl, the final Resolution was that nothing less would atone 
and be Satisfactory than the Refusing the goods to London. 
The owners consented & this ship Scott has all the goods on 



1 64 T'he Desce7idants of Hugh Amory. 

board & I wish them a safe Landing in London. . . . These 
Returned goods are regularly cleared our Custom House & I 
can't think there can be the Least Difficulty in entering the 
ship in London. Should any arise, Trusting your Interposi- 
tion to accomodate matters." 



[XCVL] " Boston Dec 5. 1769. Mr Thomas Owen. 

" In case the Adt imposing Duties on Tea, Glass, Paper 
&c should be totally repeal'd please to send us three Hogsheads 
of Felt Hats, & Insure them. Let them be sorted from 10/ 
to 30/ a doz. a Large Proportion from 10/ to 14/. 

" Yours 

" P.S. Please to charge them to Amorys & Taylor as we 
shall take Mr Joseph Taylor into Business with us." 

[XC VII.] "Boston Dec. 27. 1769. Mr. Samuel Eliot. Hall. 

"Sir 

" Our last was pr Capt Chadwell (via Hull) Duplicate 
of w'^'' you will receive p. this Conveyance. 

" Be so good as to get made for Mrs Amory 5 p'' of 
Women's Pumps of the size of the shoe now sent you pr Capt 
Hall, let them be every way as large as the Shoe sent, having 
just such a Heel. 

" Vizt I pr brocaded Silk either yellow or Murray 

ground much cover'd with lively Flowers. 
" I pr blk Satin. 
" 3 prs plain Blk Russel. 
" Send back the old Shoe with them. 



Letter-Books^ 1768-1773. 165 

" Please to send us 2 doz. Squares London Crown Glass 
15/^ by II In' II doz. do. 11 by 11 Ins. Be careful to have 
them strait as well as clear being to mend the Windows in 
the new house when broke. The above are to be sent when 
the Tea Adt is totally repeal'd. 

" Mrs Eliot has sent us about jTaSo Stlg to be invested for 
you in Exchange which has suddenly become scarce even at 
9/2 for I. However we hope to light of some soon to our 
Minds. 

" The Temper here is more violent than ever against any 
Importers. Great quantities of goods which were sent by 
Mr. Jones, are now reshipping in Capt. Hood for Bristoll. 

" We are persuaded that the Distress which those who 
have imported Goods contrary to the Agreement have met 
with, will deter ev'ry one from sending for any from hence, 
but upon the Terms generally agreed upon. . . . Nothing 
more to add. We remain with esteem 

" Yours. 

" Mrs Amory desires y^ favour of you to bring with you 
for her a sett of the best blue & white Long China Dishes if 
can get them Handsome & @ a reasonable price." 

The Non-Importation Agreement of 1768 expired by the 
1st of January, 1770, before a new one had been signed. Some 
few persons at once tried, in defiance of all warnings, to renew 
their trade in imported goods. The Lieutenant-Governor's 
sons were of the number, and this embittered the town's con- 
tinual strife against Hutchinson. But more, the hooting 
of importers in the streets led to fights, the " rough " element 



i66 The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 

was let loose and took up the amusement of baiting the 
soldiers, and finally on a moonlight March evening a senseless 
quarrel, between some idle young fellows and a sentinel, grew 
to a riot in King Street of hundreds of people, some throwing 
snowballs, lumps of ice, and pieces of wood. It lasted half an 
hour before the handful of soldiers under attack fired on their 
assailants, killing three, mortally wounding two more, and 
injuring others. This dispersed the mob, but filled the citi- 
zens with indignation, and gave Samuel Adams his oppor- 
tunity to demand the removal of all the troops to the Castle 
as a necessity for the peace of the Province. Before the next 
evening they were gone. 

[XCVIII.] "Boston, March i3"» 1770. Mr Samuel Eliot. 

Robson. 

" Sir, 

" Altho' we much doubt whether this may meet 
you yet as there is a Chance, we could not negleft to send you 
the Prints of this Week, w'^'' contain the Particulars of a dread- 
ful Slaughter that has been committed in our streets by the 
Soldiers, w'='* has exasperated not only this but the neighbour- 
ing Towns also in such a Manner as that had not Col°. Dal- 
rymple (who has gain'd himself great Honnour as well as the 
good Will of the Town by his prudent Condudl) had he not, 
we say, consented to move away the Troops, there is no judg- 
ing what might have been the consequence. There is Reason 
to fear it might have been terrible. This event will no Doubt 
contribute to increase that Spirit w'^^' before this has risen to a 
great Height. 

" You'l find by the Papers that many Towns are ent'ring 



Letter-Booksy 176 8 -1773, 167 

into Engagemts not to purchase of Importers. If this should 
become general as it possibly might, it will be a finishing 
Stroke to their Trade. If the Adls are not repeal'd it appears 
to us that what has been so long attempted, in vain, the Dis- 
use of Tea will be effected, & that English Goods in general 
(except some few particular Kinds) will be very dull, as a sur- 
prising Quantity is made here, & Passion for home-made 
Goods prevails more & more. 

" We are now selling off, tho' but very slowly, the Remains 
of our Goods, which altho' there are many good Goods among 
them we put only at i i for one. 

" You'l find by the Papers that our Brother Payne is shot 
thro' the Arm, the Ball struck between the Wrist & the 
Elbow of his right Arm, broke & much shatter'd the small 
Bone. However he is now comfortable & in a fair way to do 
well." 

In May Mrs. Rebecca Amory died, having made, it would 
appear, a complimentary bequest to the Pastor of the Brattle 
Street Church, a vehement patriot. He writes ^'^^ to her son: 

" Mr Cooper presents his kind Regards to Mr Amory — 
He cannot but very sensibly feel so kind a Notice, from so 
worthy a Person as the late Mrs Amory. He takes Part with 
the Family in the Loss of so dear a Friend, & in the Comfort 
they have upon this affefting Occasion ; & begs they would 
accept his most friendly Wishes. 

" Saturday i 2. May. 

"To Mr Tho^ Amory." 
Mr. T. C. Amory speaks of a fiat stone in the Granary 



1 68 The Descendants of Hugh Atnory. 

Burying Ground a few rods from Park Street, inscribed, " The 
Tomb of Rebecca Amory." 

[XCIX.] " Boston June ii. 1770. P. Jarvis. 

" Our mutual Friend Mr Sam' Eliot having acquainted us 
that he has left in your hands a Mem° of Goods to be executed 
for us, We take the earliest opportunity to assure you that 
we shall readily comply with any terms of payment he may 
have settled with you & that we esteem ourselves oblig-d to 
you for your readiness to open a Correspondence with you 
when so much Strangers to you. At Present we can give you 
nq dire6tion for the Execution of the Mem° left with you, but 
they must rest upon the old plan left with you by Mr Eliot. 
We can scarcely form a Judgment when the Trade will be 
open. We think ourselves happy in not having any goods 
sent us this Spring, as they must have been reshipp'd to our 
great Loss. Yours &c. P.S. In writing to us please not to 
direft to Amorys & Taylor but to Jon* & Jn° Amory unless 
the Trade is open & Goods come, as we dont take him in 
until then, & let your Letters at all times be put into the 
Ships bags bound for Boston, some of which is almost always 
up at Levers New England Coffee House, Thread Needle 
Street, London, as their coming any other way is expensive. 

" The forgoing Letter was sent to 

" Vizt: 

" Benjamin & John Bower \ 

" Thos & W'" Douglas - Manchester 

" Nath & Faulkner Phillips J 



Letter-Books^ i 768-1 773. 169 



Bristol. 



" Joseph Shapland 

"John & Francis Bull 

" Sam' Taylor & Brother 

"John Gibbons & Sons 

" Young Auchinloss & Lang — Glasgow. 

" Alexander Kincaid, Edingburg. 

" J"°. Tilloch, Glascow. 

"John Priestley & Sons, Gt. St Helen's, London. 

" Joseph Antt, Sheffield. 

"James Whavvell, Stockport. 

" Thomas Aston, Birmingham. 

" Smith, Harris & Hatfield, Whitelock Bread St, London. 

" Dowlett Brett & Hardingham, Norw''*' London. 

" Catharine & John Cock, London. 

" Tho Hartley, London. 

" Harrison & Wilson, Do. 

" Richard Prime & Co, Do. 

" Benj. Eyre & Co. Do. 

'* William Barnard & Son, Norwich." 

[C] " Boston June 25''' ^77<^- Mr J"" Mathewson. 

"Sir 

" Inclosed is a State of your Notes of Hand as they 
now stand, by which you'l perceive the whole has been due a 
long Time ; We must beg of you to exert yourself to discharge 
them as soon as possible. 

" We are settling all our old Affairs & colleding in our 
Debts, being determined whenever the Trade shall be opened 
to carry it on upon a new footing as then we shall take a 
Partner with us in the Business. 

z 



170 The Descendarits of Hugh A?nory. 

" We should be glad you would let us have what Money 

you now have by you as at this Time it would be of peculiar 

Service. 

" We remain &;c." 

The next letters show the effed of Lord North's coming 
into power this year, and repealing all the recent Afts. He 
took off all Townshend's duties except the one on tea, keeping 
this to insure the acknowledgment of Parliament's right over 
the Colonies, and hereby making himself ridiculous in the 
eyes of the theory-despising Burke. 

[CI.] Oft. iith, 1770, John Amory writes, "The Trade 
is now open except for Duty Articles." [CII.] On the 29th 
the firm write, " Trade is now open except for Teas." 
[CIII.] On the 30th they give an order to Messrs, Pearse, 
Pryce & Dent (by Lyde & Scott) for " 30 half Bbs of 
Powder, markt F, a little brighted like that you made for 
Mr Eliot & us," to come "p. first Spring Ship," directed to 
" Amorys & Taylor." " The Merchants here have determined 
to open the Trade with G. B., & to import from thence all 
Goods as usuall, excepting such on which there is or may be 
a Duty laid — " 

[CIV.] "Oa 29^1^ 1770. Mr Sam' Elam P. Lyde 

& Scott. 

" As Liberty has at last been given for the Sale of the 
Goods which were stored, we have now to acquaint you that 
we shall credit you for the foot of your Invoice of Cloths &c., 
amount ^^217,, 16 „ 6, Stlg & now remit in part pay there- 



Letter-Books^ 1768-1773. 171 

forjosiah Barker & Co. Bill for ^150 Stlg. on Harrisons & 
Ansley, & shall send the Remainder soon. 

"Yours &c." 

Early in 1771, Spain seized England's Falkland Islands. 

[CV.] The letters of Feb. 7th, 1 771, say, in giving orders: 
" In case there should be a War, we hope your Care to ship 
the Goods in some Vessell coming under Convoy, where the 
Insurance will be lessened : as also to be careful that the 
underwriters are safe Men." 

[CVI.] To a Debtor in America: "You have suffered 
already a Loss of j^ p. Ct. in the Exchange without any Gain 
to us, & should a Spanish War take Place may suffer as much 
more. . . ." On January 31st, 1772, the firm becomes 
" Amory, Taylor and Rogers." 

[CVII.] "Boston, April 19. 1773. Mess" Harrison & Ansley. 
Pr Symmes & Calahan. 

"... We shall take it as a favour if you will purchase 
for us the following Articles : 

"^ doz Silver Table Spoons, handles reversed, the Spoons 

to be quite plain, not cut nor ingraved. 
"A lanthorn for an Entry exadtly like that lately sent to 

our Jon^ Amory. 
"I doz. Wom' white Kid Gloves, size of Pattern, Viz'. 

3 pr to be glazed & 3 pr unglazed. 
" I doz. Wom' white Kid mitts, Viz' 3 pr glazed & 3 pr 

unglazed. 



1/2 The Descendants of Hugh Aniory. 

" 2 pr Worn' fine white thread (not Holland) mitts, 

middling size. 
" I pr black Sattin Pumps, size of Pattern, to be bought 

of Jno. Canm near Bow Church. 
" Also a Silver watch, as good as can be got for six 

Guin\ 

" Capt Symmes will also deliver you a Silk. Gown which 
please to get dyed as direfted & send back by first 
opportunity." 

[CVIII.] "Boston 20 April 1773. Mess" Robert & Tho. 
Wilson. Pr Symmes & Calahan. 

"... With the Goods we reed, two Gloucester Cheeses, 
for which accept our Thanks. 

"... We desire the favour of you to buy for us one 
handsome Copper Tea Urn to contain Six Quarts with Heater 
&c. Also the two following Books : Kau Kiou Choaan, or 
the pleasing History; a translation from the Chinese Lan- 
guage, printed by Dodsley. 

" Travels of the Jesuits into various Parts of the World 
particularly China & the East Indies, 2 Vols. o(5t" 2"*^ Edition 
illustrated with Maps & Sculptures &c. Printed for T. Piety, 
at the Rose & Crown in Pater Noster Rowe. 

" We remain &c." 

[CVni.] "June 14. 1773. Mess'^ Harrison & Ansley. 

". . . We have still great Complaints here of the Dulness 
of Business, & the little Profit it is done for. You would not 
readily believe English Goods in almost any Circumstances 



Letter-Books^ i 768-1773. 173 

would be sold as they are in this Place daily. The first Cost 
without any Charges is not an uncommonly low Price. Very 
lately there was sold within our knowledge many trunks of 
Calicoes, & of the most saleable kind too, at 7^ p Ct Disc' 
from the Sterling Cost. The Vendue Houses are the best 
Accustomed Places where large Assortments of fresh Goods 
are constantly selling off. Irish Linnens in particular which 
were formerly a very good Article, are now generally sold at 
such Prices as allow hardly any Profit. However we hope 
Times will mend. 

" Notwithstanding the great Scarcity of Money Exchange 
is only 2^ p. Ct under Par. The great Fall in the price of 
Pot Ashes will we are told greatly lessen the Manufafture of 
it, as many of the Country People esteem their ashes worth 
more for Manure for their Lands, than the Pot Ash Makers 
can afford to give them." 

[CIX.] "June 28. 1773. Our Jos'" Taylor was in London 
about this time twelvemonth. ..." 

[ex.] "Aug 2. 1773. To Messrs Harrison & Ansley : We 
desire you would send us pr first Opportunity, One handsome 
Turkey Carpet 14.V Feet by I2-|. We request your particular 
care in choosing this as it is for our own Use. . . ." 

[CXL] " Aug 6. 1773. To the same. . . . Please to send 
us pr first opportunity Curtains for four Windows of stampt 
Cotton like a pattern which Cpt Hood will deliver you. Each 
Curtain must be 2f yds & one Nail in Length, & i^ yd in 



174 '^he Descendants of Hugh A?nory. 

Width on the boards, fringed with green or white as you shall 
think, most proper for a lower Room. . . ." 

[CXII.] "Sept 17. 1773. To Dowling & Brett. We 
thank you for your kindness in purchasing the Muffs, Combs 
etc which doubt not will turn out right." 




CHAPTER XII. 

Letter-Books, \jj-^-\jy6. 

HE next two letters were written within five days 
after the Boston Tea-Party. Francis Rotch, 
whose bill the first encloses, is no doubt the young 
owner of the " Dartmouth," the first of the three 
tea-ships to come into port. One of the three was commanded 
by John Coffin, a nephew of Mrs. Thomas Amory. Captain 
Loring, mentioned in the second letter as cast ashore on Cape 
Cod, had on board not only the Amory firm's goods but also 
more tea. 




[CXIIL] " Boston Dec. 20. 1773. Mr Mark Huish. 

"Sir 

" The foregoing of 4*'' instant we confirm copy of 
our last, & inclose you Duplicate of Eras. Rotch's Bill on 
Buxton & Enderby for £^j Sts. 

" We have now to request you would send us the follow- 
ing Articles pr the very first Opportunity desiring your 
particular Attention as they are for our own Use, Vizt. 

" 6 pr Wom^ fine & thick Cotton Hose, 4 thrd in Heel 5/ 
" 6 pr. Do. Thread d°. d". 4 '6 



ijb The Descendants of Hugh A?nory. 

" 6 pr Men's best black worsted d° 4 thH. of the inclos'd 

Pattern 

" Put in a Paper by themselves & mark'd T. N. 
" 12 pr Worn' Cotton Hose, 4 thr'' in Heel, not to exceed 

60/ to be put in a Bundle & mark'd R. P. 
" 6 pr Worn' Cotton Hose to cost 5/ to be large & 4 thrd 

in y' Heel, & markt A A. 

"Trusting you will excuse our thus troubling you we 
remain &c." 

[CXIV.] "Boston Dec 21'' 1773. Mess" Harrisons & Ansley 
P. the Hayley, Scott & Capt Shaley. 

" The foregoing of 6'^ Inst we confirm copy of our 
last, since which we have receiv'd your favor of 30"' Sep'' pr 
Loring who is unfortunately cast ashore on Cape Cod. 
Whether our Goods are safe we have not yet been advised. 

" We now inclose you Duplicate of the sixteen Dutch 
Bills on Middelbourg amt 7838 G. 8 Str. & Eight on Am- 
sterdam 1535 G. 7 Str. as also Francis Rotch's 2"'' Bill on 
Buxton & Enderby for ^I'^'i Stg. which please to pass to our 
Credit. We have not receiv'd the Duplicates of the two 
small Bills sent you pr the Dolphin Scott but shall forward 
them as soon as they come to hand. We have deliver'd to 
Capt Scott a small Box dire<5ted for you containing 12 doz. of 
Trunk Locks which we request the favor of you to send to 
Mess" Matthew & Thos Aston of Bread Street which they 
are to take the charge of for their Friends Messrs Lee Wright 
& James of Birmingham, as also four Women's Shoes which 
we beg the favor of you to send to Mr Kame to have several 



Letter-Books^ i 773-1776. 177 

pair made agreeable to the Direcftions which we trust you will 
pay for 6c send pr the first Opportunity. As they are for our 
Family's use, we should be glad Mr Kame would take par- 
ticular Care to follow the Diredlions & mark the Bundles 
with the several Names that there may be no mistake. The 
Shoes are in the Box with the Hinges. We shall write you 
pr Capt Shapley by whom we shall send you a small parcel of 
Bees Wax. 

" Interim we remain with much Esteem 
" Your Friends & Servants " 

[CXV.] " Boston, Jan 7. 1774. Mess" Harrisons & Ansley. 

"This will be handed you by Mr John Whitworth, 
who we beg leave to recommend to your notice. As you may 
be led to think from his Business having been so soon drawn 
to a Close that we have found him wanting in his Attention 
to it or his Capacity for Conducting it, In Justice to him we 
assure that we ascribe his want of Success altogether to the 
difficulty of the Times & the almost impossibility of carrying 
on the English Goods Trade to any profit." 

[CXVI.] "Jan. 7. 1774. 

" Exchange has lately been with us extremely scarce & 
high which is the Reason we do not now remit you the whole 
Balance, but hope soon to do it. Wishing you many happy 
Returns of the Season 

" We remain with Esteem." 

[CXVIL] "Jan. 25. 1774 to Harrisons & Ansley 
". . . . Exchange is at 2^ p. Ct above Par, & scarce at 

A A 



178 The Descendants of Hugh Aniory. 

that, but Money is much scarcer, and Goods are sold as low 
as ever tho' we expedt there will be an Alteration in Trade, 
& Goods will be sold to a greater Profit than they have been 
of late. Woolen Goods (6c such as are not badly charg'd) 
have been sold at 15 p. Ct under the Nett Sterling Cost, with 
ev'ry Advantage allow'd, such as 5 p. Ct for the Hall- 
Measure, Freight, Insurance &c paid but we expedl this 

Game will not continue long. 

" We should be glad you would advise us how it would 
answer to remit you Gold, & whether Johannes, Guineas & 
Moidores which lack a few Grains will pass by Tale, as we 
think it would be better for us to remit Gold than give two 
pr Ct above Par for Exchange. 

" We have now to desire you would procure & send us p 
the first Opportunity the following Spanish Books. Vizt. 

"A Diftionary, Grammar & three other Spanish Books in 
Prose, in a good Style, proper for Learners ; as also purchase 
a State Lottery Ticket & advise us of the Number, which 
please to have recorded at the office in the Name of Samuel 
Rogers, Boston, New England. . . . Please to send us a good 
Clock, the best you can get for 8 or 10 Guineas suitable for a 
Compting Room, being intended to stand upon a Shelf or 
Table, to be in a square Case, 12 or 15 Ins. high. We mean 
the common sort, not those which are supported by Images or 
other Figures. If upon Enquiry of the Clockmaker he should 
tell you that this kind do not go so true as the common 
House-Clocks in long Cases, please to send us one of that 
kind of the same Price; However should prefer the first sort 
if they go as well. . . ." 



Letter-Books, 1773-1776. 179 

[CXVIII.] "Feb. 12. 1774. Harrisons & Ansley. 

" .... At present we have only to desire you to purchase 
for us One good plain Silver Watch, without ornament, but 
of the best Construdion for regular Going ; the Price to be 
within Eight Guineas." 

[CXIX.] " Mar. 14. 1774. Robt & Thos Wilson 
" . . . . Please also to send us as good an Alarum Clock 
as you can procure for 2 or 2^ Guineas, being for our own 
Use, with Diredtions for the Management of it. One of a 
small size would be preferred being design'd for a Bed 
Chamber." 

[CXX.] "Boston N. E. Mar 29. 1774. Mr Isaac Dent. 

"Sir 

"Your Favor of the 24''' Dec"^ with the Powder pr 
Gorham came duly to hand, amt £^2 i. 3 Stg which is to 
your Credit. The remaining 25 Half Barrels >ve expedl will 
soon reach us. 

" We have now to desire you would send us by the first 
good Conveyance after the Receipt of this twenty five Half 
Barrels of Powder F, a little brighted ; and in about six 
Weeks after that Vessel shall have sail'd twenty five Half 
Barrels more, and about six Weeks after that send a further 
Quantity of twenty five Half Barrels, making in the whole 
seventy five Half Barrels. We rely upon your Care to send us 
the best of Powder, which will be a Means of increasing our 
Dealings. We would have you ship these several Parcels by 
Vessels which constantly use the Trade ; & as the Value will 



i8o The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

be but small, we would not have you insure, but will take the 
Risque upon ourselves. 

" We remain &c." 

[CXXL] "Ap 6. 1774 To Harrisons &Ansley. . . . [send- 
ing] bills for X^400 Stg. which please to pass to our Credit. 

" Please to send us p first Opportunity four Window Cur- 
tains made of Saxon blue silk & worsted Damask in the 
newest Fashion without a Cornish. The LenQ;th of the 
Curtains must be Nine Feet, the Length of the Laths four 
feet six Inches." 

[CXXIL] " Ap. 27. 1774. To Robt & Tho Wilson 

". . . . We return you thanks for the generous Parcel of 
News Papers you sent, which were to us a very acceptable 
Present." 

The reply from the English Government to the destrudlion 
of the tea consisted in four A6ls of Parliament. The first one 
closed the port of Boston. The second changed the Massa- 
chusetts Charter in the matter of eledlions to the Council ; 
abolished town-meetings for anything but choosing town- 
oflicers, unless by special permission of the Governor ; and gave 
the Governor also power to appoint and remove Sheriffs, who 
were to return juries. The third bill transferred the place of 
trial of magistrates, revenue officers, and soldiers indicted for 
murder or other capital offence to Nova Scotia or Great 
Britain. The fourth legalized the quartering of troops in 
Boston, and ordered judgment on the leading Whigs, especially 
Samuel Adams. General Gage was appointed to supersede 



Letter-Books^ 1773-177 6. 181 

Hutchinson as Governor, the latter being summoned to 
England to give advice to the King. Gage arrived May 
13th ; Hutchinson sailed June ist, respectful addresses having 
been presented to him, signed by one hundred & twenty 
gentlemen and merchants of Boston, among whom were 
Elizabeth Amory's brother Nathaniel CoflRn and three of his 
sons.'*^'^ 

[CXXni.] "May aD'h 1774. To Mess" Harrisons & Ansley. 
Capt Gencham [?] & Hill. 

" Our last was the 26^'^ Ult", since which we have received 
your several favors of 24"" Feb, 9'' 22"' 30" March, & 2"' April, 
to which we have not time now to reply, the Goods as far as 
we have opened them have been agreeable to Invoice. We 
now inclose you the following Bills of Exch^ which please pass 
to our Credit. Vizt : 

Jn° Rowe Esq' on Peter Balchin and Co. . . . ^^400 

Tim° Ruggles on Irael Mauduit 16 12 

Thos Davis on Ommaney & Co 15 — 



A3 1 12 



Say four Hundred & thirty one Pounds, 12/ 

" You might reasonably exped: us to say much on these 
dark times but indeed we are not capable of saying anything 
material at present. The only hopes of the People here seems 
to be from the stoppage of the Trade, but whatever may be 
the Event you may rely upon our utmost Endeavors to pay 
you & the rest of our Friends. The Bag being just ready to be 
taken down prevents our adding any thing further at present 



1 82 'The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 

but hope shortly to write you more fully when we shall have 
learnt the Sentiments of the other Colonies." 

[CXXIV.] "Boston May 30. 1774. Mr Mark Huish 

P. Callahan. 

" Sir, 

" Your favors of 26'"^ March & 1 1*'' Feby have duly 
come to hand, which as far as we have opened them are agree- 
able to Invoice. The Present serves to acquaint you that as 
by the late severe Adl of Parliament (which cruelly involves 
the innocent in the same fate with the Guilty) our Port is to 
be shut up, we would have you send the Hosiery order'd in 
March last to Mess'' Harrisons and Ansley, London, advising 
them with the Amount, in order to be insur'd & shipt to us at 
Salem, where one or more of us shall be oblig'd to resort. 

" As our Port is to be blocked up in a few Days, every- 
thing here is in great confusion, & at present we have time 
only to add that altho' the unjustifiable Violences committed 
here might lead us to expedl the Resentment of Government, 
yet there is scarcely any one, even among the highest Tories 
that does not consider the last Aft of Parliament as most cruel 
& inhumane as it involves the innocent & Guilty without 
Distindlion in the same Calamity. There does not appear any 
great Lothness in the People here to make Satisfaftion to the 
India Company, but delay making an Proposals, not knowing 
what Concissions may be expedled from them. 

" A Subordination to Parliament in Regard to Regulation 
of Trade is almost universally consider'd here as necessary for 
the Good of both Countries, but we conceive no Sufferings 
will induce the Colonies to acknowledge a Right in Parliament 



Letter-Books^ 1773-1776. 183 

to tax us at Pleasure. In hopes of seeing better Days, we 
remain with much Esteem 

" Your most humble Servants, 

" P.S. Let what may happen shall not fail to exert our- 
selves to pay our just Debts." 

[CXXV.] " Boston May 30. 1774. Mess" Harrison & Ansley. 

Callahan 6c Calef. 

"Gentlemen, 

" We now write in the greatest Hurry ; as our Port 
is to be block'd up in a Day or two every thing here is in 
confusion. You will therefore be good enough to excuse our 
not writing particularly 6c fully on our distressful situation, b:, 
it is indeed extremely difficult to form any Judgment of the 
Issue. Those who have the lead here buoy up the Minds of 
the People with the Expeftation of the Concurrence of the 
other Colonies \x\ some measures for our Relief 6c think it is 
best to take no step without their Advice 6c Co-operation. 

" Although we by no means wish to aft counter to the 
general voice of the Colonies with regard to continuing our 
Importations, yet Nothing to the Contrary being as yet con- 
cluded upon, we desire you woud forward to Salem the Goods 
we before order'd, together with those in the inclosed Mem° 
. . . We shall be at Salem to receive our Fall Goods. . . ." 

[Here follows a repetition of what was said in the letter of 
the same date to Mr. Mark Huish on the subjed: of the Port 
Bill.] 



184 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

[CXXVl.] "Boston June 20. 1774. Messrs Harrisons & 
Ansley. Via Providence — pr the Captain Man of War. 

" Gent^' 

" Since our writing last the spirit of Resentment 
against Great Britain on Ac6l. of the Injuries done us & still 
expected, has arisen to such an Height that a most solemn 
Covenant not to purchase any British Goods is now signing 
fast through the Country. Should it become universal as there 
is Reason to apprehend it may, an End will be put to our Sales. 
Besides which the Difficulty of colledting Debts which we 
already experience, may if the Alteration which is exped:ed 
should be made in our Courts of Justice by a new mode of 
appointing Juries which will not be easily submitted to, arise 
to such an Height as to render the Collecting our Debts for a 
Time in a manner impossible, especially as great Numbers 
may think that the Good of their Country will oblige them to 
with-hold their Hands from paying the Merchant here that he 
may not make his Remittances to Great Britain, from which 
they hope the sooner to be reliev'd. This being the Case we 
have now to desire you would with-hold the Execution of our 
Orders & forward us only those Articles which are a6tually 
shipt, & such others (if there be any) which you may have 
procur'd for us & cannot without much injuring yourselves 
keep back. — We are extreme sorry for the Trouble we give 
you ; but such is the unhappy situation of our Affairs, & the 
Uncertainty of what Lengths the People may go to as to 
induce us to think it will be much for your Interest as well as 
our own not to have the Goods sent. 

*' There appears no Disposition at present to open our Port, 



Letter-Books^ i7'J2>~'^17^- 185 

if the giving up of our Liberties must be the Consequence. 
The Payment for the Tea & making Good the Damages would 
be no Obstacle as it is the general Opinion that it ought to be 
done — but even this Step they don't chuse to take, till they 
know the Result of a Congress of all the Colonies which is to 
be held at Philadelphia in August or the beginning of 
September. 

" This you will receive by a Vessel from Providence having 
just been inform'd that one will sail from that Port, & as the 
Post goes out so soon that we have not time to write to any of 
our Friends respedting this Matter we have to request the 
Favor of you to shew this Letter to our Friends Messrs Wilsons, 
Wright & Gill, Dowling Brett & Hardingham, Richard Prime 
& Co., Smith Harris & Hatfeild, W™ Priestley, Jones Havard 
& Jones, Edw*" Good & Co, & Townsend & Giffin, with our 
best Respefts to those Gentlemen ; hoping they will excuse 
our not writing p. this Conveyance, but desiring they would 
pay the same Attention to it as if it had been address'd to each 
House in particular. 

" We hope that if for a Time you find us slack in our 
Remittances you will not impute it to Want of Attention in 
us. Industry shall [not] be wanting in us to remit you as fast as 
shall be in our Power, & that whatever Turn Affairs may take 
we shall consider ourselves bound in Honor & Conscience to 
pay our Debts in England to our utmost Power. 

" We remain &c. 

" P.S. Inclos'd is Duplicate of Hugh & Alex Wallace's 
Bill on Bourdieu & Chollet No 126 for £ij'i 15 8^ Stg." 



B B 



1 86 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

[CXXVII.] "Boston July 5"^ 1774. Messrs Harrisons & 
Ansley. P. the Captain Man of War. 

" Gentlemen 

" The foregoing is Copy of our last via Providence, 
since which the Face of our public Affairs has become still 
more gloomy & threatening. 

" You v^ill see by the public Papers that a solemn League 
& Covenant for the Non-Consumption of English Goods that 
shall arrive in America after the 31" Aug' next has been sent 
abroad into all Ports of this Province & has been signed by 
great Numbers. The Governor has issued his Proclamation 
against it, & w^hat will follow next we cannot say. 

"We find already an almost total Cessation of Business; 
we neither sell our Goods nor receive Debts due for those sold 
long since. This makes us much concerned how we shall 
make remittances. We have now on hand above _(^i 0,000 
Stg Value in Goods at the first Cost, and a very large Debt 
out ; but such is the prospeft of Affairs that we have no 
Assurance of raising any considerable sums. All we can 
promise is our utmost Endeavors to pay our Debts, to do which 
we consider ourselves obliged by every principle of Honesty 
& Honor, whatever may take place in political Matters. 

" We hope none of our Customers will adopt the Opinion 
that the with-holding the Payment of Debts to Great Britain 
is a reasonable measure to obtain the Redress of our Griev- 
ances, but we cannot assure you it will not be the Case. 
Should it be we shall be utterly unable to remitt you as 
formerly, as suits at Law in these disturbed Times must be 
attended with tenfold Difficulty & Uncertainty. 



Letter-Books^ 1 773-1 776. 187 

" However faulty the People may have been in destroying 
private Property, v\^e think the Resentment shewn exceeds all 
Bounds of humanity. Boston is to be in a manner destroy 'd ; 
our Judges to be appointed and dismissed at the Pleasure of 
the Governor ; an Inhabitant liable to be carried to a foreign 
Country to be tried for life ; others, tho' Innocent, liable to be 
sent with them as Evidence, perhaps to the ruin of their 
Families — this will never be borne with. Our Sea Port may 
be destroyed, but the Country will never assent to these 
Things. 

"We cannot conclude without saying that Notwithstand- 
ing these Appearances, we have some faint Hopes that Light 
will soon arise out of Darkness when we Consider that it is so 
much the Interest of both Countries to have things settled on 
some reasonable Footing. The Americans will never admit 
in Parliament a Right to tax them at Pleasure : but they are 
universally sensible that the Good of both Countries requires 
that a Power be acknowledged to be in Parliament to regulate 
our Trade in such a Manner as to give the Produce & 
Manufadures of Great Britain & the Colonies an Advantage 
over those of other Countries, & to prevent any Trade being 
carried on prejudicial to the whole Empire. 

" We have just receiv'd yours of 6'*^ of May pr Brown. 

" We remain &c. 

The above except the last Line was sent to the following 
Persons, vizt — " 

[Here follow the names of twenty-two firms.] 
The letters between July 13'^ 177^ & May 30"' 1775 an- 



J 



1 88 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

nounce remittances to various houses in England, to be passed 
to the credit of Amorys Taylor & Rogers, amounting to 
^11,195 13J. 3^. 



[CXXVIII.] August 8'^ 1774, the firm write to Messrs. 
Harrisons and Ansley by Captain Wishart via Plymouth and 
Captain Lyde via Salem, ordering " for Mr James Foster ot 
this town " wool-card wire, cotton-carder and 500,000 card 
tacks at the lowest prices on ten months' credit. " We hope 
you will be able to ship these Articles in a short Time after 
the Receipt of this as we should chuse to have them omitted 
rather than shipt so late that there should be danger of the 
Vessells being blown off, coming upon our Coast in the 
Winter. 

" The State of our public Affairs appears so precarious 
that we have Nothing to write concerning them that we 
think could give Satisfadlion ; must therefore beg leave to 
refer you to the public papers. We are etc." 

[CXXIX.] "Boston, Sept 3"^ 1774. Messrs Harrisons & 

Ansley 
" Gent'* 

" . . . . Our public Calamities which have of late 
been the subject of our Letters, still continue uppermost in 
our Minds. It is the general Opinion & we cannot but join 
in it that Events the most important to the Colonies & to this 
Province in particular, must take place in a very short Time. 
For your Information of what has lately passed we have sent 
you p. Capt. Davis a Number of News Papers by which you 



Letter-Booh^ 1773-177 6. 189 

will find that the two A(5ts of ParHament lately passed for 
regulating the Government of the Province, & administering 
Justice therein, are almost universally detested & opposed. 
We have advice almost every Day of fresh Instances of the 
Resentment of the Country against Persons who, from their 
Office or supposed Principles, are engaged to execute them. 
Of the 36 new appointed Councillors 25 were sworn, but all 
these except about 14 who are cooped up in this Town, have 
been obliged to resign their Office & promise never to a<3; 
under the new Establishment. 

" Yesterday several Thousands of People were assembled 
at Cambridge, & a great Part brought their Arms with them, 
upon a Report (occasioned by the Governor's removing some 
Powder) that the Province would be disarmed. The Seledt 
Men ot this Town & several others, went out in order to calm 
them & we are informed that the People assembled, having 
obliged the Lieut-Governor 6c some others to resign their 
Office as Councellors, and the Sheriff & Clerk of the Court for 
the County of Middlesex to promise never to ad; under the 
new Establishment, returned home. 

" Our Courts of Justice are now shut, & we have no Ex- 
pedlation of their being opened again for a considerable Time, 
as the Jurors who have been summoned have one & all 
declined serving in consequence of which all the Superior 
Judges waited on his Excellency 6c acquainted him they could 
not go the Circuits. As all Law is now at an End, we are 
left at the Mercy of those who are indebted to us to pay us at 
their own Time. We are satisfied with the Honor 6c In- 
tegrity of most of those with whom we deal ; but how far 
they will be render'd unable to pay us from their Debtors 



190 The Desce?idants of Hugh Amory. 

availing themselves of the Times, we are unable to say. Time 
only will discover. But be assured there is nothing we are so 
solicitous about as the Discharging our Debts in England, & 
therefore we shall exert ourselves to the utmost to colleft 
& remit as fast as possible. 

" It appears to us that the whole Body of the People not 
only of this Province but of the Colonies around us are so de- 
termined to support their Charter-Rights even at the Risque 
of their lives & Fortunes, that we cannot think that any Force 
that Great Britain can spare will effedt the Change they intend. 
The last Afts are so glaringly oppressive & cruel that there 
seems now scarcely a Man in New England, except a few who 
from their Places are under Influence, but abhors them & is 
ready to oppose them. It is our opinion that should Great 
Britain by any extraordinary Force be able to carry these Adls 
into Execution for the present, she will reap no Benefit from it 
as the People here will hold her in such Detestation & Abhor- 
rence as will prevent her from having those commercial Ad- 
vantages which she has heretofore had, & will be only waiting 
the first favourable Opportunity for Opposition. Nor is it 
unlikely that the very Troops which she may send over to sub- 
jugate us may incorporate with us, either by a promise of 
Reward or by some unforeseen Events & prove the very In- 
struments of our Safety from arbitrary Power. 

" We have as yet experienced but little Inconvenience 
from the Soldiery as they are under the stri6lest Discipline, & 
altogether confined to their Camps in the Common & on Fort 
Hill : not a soldier is to be seen in the streets of an Evening, 
& seldom in the Day, unless under the Care of their Serjeants. 

" We remain etc." 



Letter-Books^ 1773-1776. 191 

Here a scrap of paper, apparently as old as the Letter-Book, 
is stuck between the leaves and bears two and a half lines ot 
writing as follows : 

" Where the tijoo leaves doubled in — is the letter the sent 
& it was printed in Eng' & distributed by the person it was 
written to." 

Three leaves show a fold down the middle as if they had 
been doubled in, but they hold only two letters, viz. the one 
here last given, of September 3rd, and the one which follows, 
of September 17th. The Canada Bill mentioned in this is the 
Quebec Aft of 1774, probably the wisest and most enlightened 
measure ever carried by Lord North. It virtually established 
Roman Catholicism in Canada, an aft of justice to the 
Canadians, who were wholly French. The English part of 
Canada did not exist until after 1783, when it was formed 
almost entirely of Loyalist refugees from the States. The 
wisdom of the Aft is shown by the fadt that the only French 
colony which England had, remained then and always en- 
thusiastically loyal while all the English ones were alienated. 
But at the moment ultra-Protestants in England were not less 
angry with Lord North than were the Massachusetts Puritans. 
The latter were naturally alarmed as well as angry, regarding 
the Aft as a bribe to Canada to take the Government's side in 
the approaching contest. No doubt something of that was in 
the origin of the measure. The Canadians would have had 
cause of complaint if nothing of the kind had been done, and 
Lord North naturally did not wish to add disaffefted French 
to disaffefted English colonies. There was an unexpefted 
dissolution of Parliament in the autumn, an inquiry into the 



192 "The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

mind of the country, and as the new Parliament met on the 
30th of November the General Ele6lion must just then have 
been over. John Amory's statement of affairs in America 
during the first half of September may have been in time to 
serve as an eledlioneering pamphlet. 

[CXXX.] " Boston, Sept. 17. 1774. Lyde. 

" The unhappy state we are thrown into by the late cruel 
& oppressive Afts of Parliament for shutting up our Port & 
altering our Government, so deeply impresses our Minds that 
we are led at this Time to write on that subjeft to you, & 
other of our Friends in England, who may have an Influence 
in the Choice of Members of Parliament at the next Eledlions. 

Surely there never was a Time that more called for the 
Attention of the People in the Choice of their Representatives. 
Should the next Parliament, instead of adopting lenient 
Measures, pursue the Steps of the last & endeavor to enforce 
the Measures of Lord North by military Power, America will 
soon become a Scene of Blood ; for you may rely upon it that 
they are determined to risque their Lives & Fortunes, rather 
than become the Slaves of arbitrary Power. Nor can we 
think that any Force Great Britain can spare can effeft their 
Designs. Disciplined Troops undoubtedly are greatly superior 
to Militia, but the Disparity in Numbers is so very great as 
must more than overbalance that Advantage. The Readiness 
of our People to take Arms was shewn a few days ago on 
Occasion of the Governor's suddenly sending out a small Party 
to bring away a Qty of Powder that belonged to the Province 
which they easily effefted, their Design not being known. 
This occasioned a Report thro' the Country that the Governor 



Letter-Books^ i 773-1776. 193 

was disarming the People ; which so inflamed them that great 
Bodies of People collected with the utmost Alacrity, & many 
came down to oppose the soldiers if there was Occasion : and 
had the Report proved true we make no doubt that 20000 
Men tolerably armed would soon have been colle<5ted, or double 
that Number if wanted, as it is supposed we have more than 
80000 Men in this Province alone, all well accustomed to 
Fire-Arms, ^ mostly in some Measure disciplined. Judge 
then what must probably be the Event. Should they from 
want of Discipline be beat once, twice or three Times, which 
is not very probable, they must finally prevail, as the King's 
Troops must be weakened by every Ad:ion, whereas ours will 
daily grow stronger as well from Experience as from the 
Accession of any Number from the other Colonies that may be 
wanted. Indeed, a great Number, some say loooo were on 
their March from Connedlicut on this Occasion. The 
Governor, notwithstanding he has now with him seven Regi- 
ments, thinks proper to secure the Avenue of the Town for 
fear of an Attack, & is beginning works for that Purpose. 

"But upon supposition of Great Britain finally prevailing 
after massacring thousands of innocent People (innocent at 
least even if mistaken; as they think they are contending for 
their just Rights) will any Profit accrue to her from her 
Success ? Can she promise herself that she will reap those 
Commercial Advantages she has heretofore done ? She cer- 
tainly will not ; the People & their latest Posterity, tho' sub- 
jugated, will detest her & only wait the first favorable Oppor- 
tunity to throw off the Yoke : & to us it appears more than 
probable that the very Troops sent among us either from 
promise of reward or some unforeseen Event will in a short 

c c 



194 The Descendaftts of Hugh Amory. 

Time incorporate with us & be the very Means of combating 
that arbitrary Power they were sent to estabHsh. 

" There might be some Prospedl of Government's succeed- 
ing was there any Proportion worth mentioning on its side ; 
but the late Ads have made the Discontent in a manner uni- 
versal. The Grievances we complain of are real : the taking 
away our Charter Rights, the subjedtion of our Property to the 
King's Pleasure, & those who may murder us being rendered 
not amenable to any Tribunal of Justice in America, are too 
glaring Attacks upon our political as well as natural Rights, 
not to be felt by the most dull & stupid, much less to be borne 
by a People among whom Knowledge perhaps is more 
generally diffused than among any People upon Earth. This 
perhaps you may think boasting, but it may appear probable 
to you when we acquaint you that in every Town Free-Schools 
are established at public Expence ; & it costs no more to 
bring up Children to the Learning of reading, writing, cypher- 
ing^ & in many Places Latin, than to keep them in Ignor- 

ance. 

" As we have mentioned before that our Grievances are 
real, we beg your Patience while we point out some of them. 
And in order that you may frame a better Judgment of the 
Alteration, we will first mention the Charter Constitution 
which till of late we were under. 

" Our Governors, tho' appointed by His Majesty, were 
paid by the People, who have never with held a Salary of one 
thousand Pounds Stg. p. Annum from any Governor, even the 
most obnoxious.— Our Council chosen annually by the Re- 
presentatives jointly with the old Council subjedt to the 
Negative of the Governor.— Our Judges & other Civil Officers 



Letter-Books^ 1773-1776. 195 

being paid by the People were appointed by the Governor & 
this Council, & removable only by them when upon Trial 
found guilty of Misdemeanor. — Our Juries for Trials chosen 
by Lot from among those qualified to serve. — Our military 
Officers appointed solely by the Governor & removeable by 
him at Pleasure. — All our Afts of Assembly subjedl not only 
to his Negative but even afterwards to the controul of the 
King in Council. — Thus was our Dependence on Great Britain 
as effedtually secured as it well could be, consistent with a State 
of Freedom. Under this Constitution we were happy for more 
than a Century, prided ourselves in the Name of Englishmen, 
& were ready to spend our Blood & Treasure in the service of 
Great Britain ; & for a series of years shewed our Attachment 
to her Interest which we then considered our own, & distressed 
ourselves almost to Ruin in aggrandizing her Name & enlarg- 
ing her Dominions. An Account of our Exertions in her 
Cause as well as in our own Defence you will probably see re- 
printed in your Magazines. It is a precise Acd:. taken of all 
Expences & Men employed by this Province in military 
Expeditions since its first settlement ; it was taken about ten 
years ago by a Committee of the Council of which our late 
Governor Hutchinson was Chairman : it lately appeared in our 
News-Papers; & the Amt of the Money was ^1,039,390. 5.4 
our L. m'' equal to ^^779, 542. 14/ Stg, a prodigious sum for 
an infant Colony. 

" This Disposition would have remained had not Great 
Britain unhappily both for herself and us, formed an Idea of 
taxing us at Pleasure, & thereby subjefting us to a state of 
perfeft Slavery, a Project she will never effedt tho she may 
ruin herself totally & us for a Time by the Attempt. 



196 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

" We have now Sir to shew you the Alteration made in our 
Constitution. 

" The Parliament, in which we are not represented, have 
declared their Right to tax us at Pleasure, & have exercised 
that Right. This Principle once admitted there is nothing an 
American can call his own. 

" Our Governor, instead of being paid by the People, is 
paid by the Crown & therefore does not stand in that Relation 
to the People that he before did. It is certain his receiving 
Pay from the People had a natural tendency to lead him to be 
tender of them & attentive in some Measure to their Interest: 
while his Appointment & Removal resting with the King 
made him sufficiently attentive to the Interests of the Crown. 
At least there was no Occasion for such an Alteration untill he 
was denied an adequate support by the People. 

" Our Council is now appointed by the Crown & remove- 
able by it at Pleasure. 

"The Judges of our Superior Courts pensioned by the 
Crown & also removeable by it at Pleasure. This was a most 
wanton Innovation, as it never was suggested that they had in 
any one Instance appeared more favorable to the Interest of 
the People than to that of the Crown ; tho' the Contrary has 
been complained of. We are sensible that some have argued 
that their Stipends are not equal to the Dignity of their Place; 
but as it never has been found during a Century but that those 
who have been most esteemed among us for their Integrity & 
best qualified for the Place, have been ready to accept for the 
Honor, surely no Argument could be fairly drawn from thence. 

"The Judges of our Inferior Courts are appointed solely 
by the Governor, & removeable by him at Pleasure. 



Letter-Books^ 1773-177 6. 197 

" Our Juries are chosen by the Sheriff, who is also appointed 
solely by the Governor. 

" A Town-Meeting cannot be held on the most trivial 
Matters, except once or twice a year, without the special leave 
of the Governor. 

"Thus, Sir, the Governor is rendered in a manner des- 
potick, & our Charter Priveleges which have always been 
consider'd by us as the only Security we have for our Liberties 
& Properties, broken in upon in the most capital Articles. 
Add to all this the most shocking Consideration that those who 
may murder us, if the Governor chuses to consider them as 
afting for Government, are not amenable to our Courts of 
Justice even such as they are but [are to be] sent to a foreign 
Country for Trial ; & all who are cited as Evidences obliged 
to leave their Homes to attend the Trial, tho' perhaps to their 
Ruin. We cannot dwell upon this, it is too much to think of. 

"All this. Sir, has arisen from Great Britain's adopting as 
we think a most false & ruinous System of Politicks with 
regard to the Colonies. She was reaping immense Profit from 
them, which was increasing rapidly every Year ; she virtually 
obliged them to pay their Proportion of Taxes by restrifting 
their Trade to her for all such Manufactures as she could 
supply them with, the Prices of which were enhanced 
perhaps one half by the various Taxes paid by the Makers, & 
which must necessarily be charged on the Goods. We hope 
that when the Parliament shall be convinced, as we are sensible 
they soon must be, of the ruinous system they have adopted, 
they will not think it beneath their Dignity to recede. 

"We have now no Law, nor Courts of Justice, the Jurors 
who have been summoned to a Man refusing to do Business 



198 The Desce?tdants of Hugh Amoj'y. 

under the new establishment ; & the Judges themselves have 
in a Body waited upon his Excellency & acquainted him they 
cannot go the Circuits, so that we now lye at the Mercy of 
those who owe us, which renders our debts very precarious. 
How long this may remain God only knows — if it should 
remain long, thousands must be ruined. Of the thirty six 
Councillors lately appointed by the King & whose Readiness 
to serve the Purposes of Government was presumed upon, ten 
refused accepting, nine who accepted have been made to 
resign, & fifteen who still hold their Places are cooped up in 
this Town. Of the other two one is dead, the other absent. 

" Notwithstanding the distressed situation of this Town, 
its Trade destroyed, & entirely in the Power of the Army 
encamped in it, not the least Disposition to give Place 
appears : the opening of the Port is not so much as mentioned. 
The Difficulty lyes not in paying for the Tea, if that would 
release us, but in complying with an Aft which puts our most 
valuable Property at the mercy of the Crown, & destroys 
every Idea of holding any thing that w^e can call our own. 
Beside this we are animated by all the Colonies taking part in 
our Cause & contributing so largely to our Relief; which tho' 
it does not help those who are above applying for Charity, yet 
prevents the Cry for Bread being heard in our Streets. 

" We are now waiting impatiently for the Result of the 
Congress, & hope it may be such as Great Britain can with 
Honor & Safety acquiesce in, & that it may lead to the settle- 
ment of a just & equitable Line between the Authority of 
Great Britain on the one Part, & the Liberties of America on 
the other. Should these Disputes be once settled & no such 
Encroachments on our Rights be made in future, doubt not 



Letter-Books^ 1773-1776. 199 

the Americans will again return to the same Love to Great 
Britain & Regard for her Interests that they heretofore had. 

'* Wishing you Health & Happiness, & a better Govern- 
ment than we are under, we remain with Esteem 

" Your Friends & Humble Servants 

" P.S. We forgot to mention that the Canada Bill has 
tended to inflame the Minds of the People here, as it indicates 
to them a Design in the Ministry to sett Frenchmen & 
Papists to cut their Throats, in case they are not subservient 
to the Plan of Despotism intended to be established among 
them. 

" This Letter was sent to Mr Mark Huish, N. & T. Phillips 
& Co., Jn° & Fras. Bull, Dowling Brett & Co., Mr W'" 
Douglas, N. &. R. Denison, Benj & Jn" Bower, Smith Harris 
& Hatfield, Jn° Priestley & Sons, Rayner Dawson & Co., John 
Woolmer, R. & T. Wilson." 

[CXXXL] "Boston Sept 21. 1774. Mr Gilbert Harrison 

"Sir 

"This will be handed to you by Dod W"" Payne 
who together with Mr Rufus Chandler go in Capt. Llyde. 
They are our particular Friends & Sons to Judge Chandler & 
the Honb. Mr Payne of Worcester who I believe you know. 
If it should lay in your way to shew them any Civility by 
doing it you will oblige us. They will deliver you a packet 
of News Papers from which you '1 find what's passing here — 
it is a dark day with us. God send us better Times. 
" With sincere Regard we are 

" Yr. Friends & Servants 



200 The Desce?iclants of Hugh Amory. 

" P.S. We have just heard of Cap^ Scott's Arrival but have 
not yet got our Letters." 

[CXXXII.] Oaober 13th 1774: "Please to diredl to us 
at Salem as our J. Taylor is there & will probably continue 
there some time." 

[CXXXIIL] "Boston Oftober 13. 1774 Messrs Harrisons 
& Ansley Gordon via Marblehead & Capt Dundas. 

". . . . Your favor of 15 August pr Capt Callahan who 
arrived at Salem yesterday. . . . We consider ourselves much 
obliged by the Confidence you express in our Integrity & the 
kind & generous Indulgence you offer us in Case the Inter- 
ruption in our Business should occasion a Delay in our 
Remittances. We beg leave to add on this subjedl:, that this 
Delay shall not be increased by your Friendly declaration." 

[CXXXIV.] "Oaober 17'^ 1774. 

" Please dired: to us at Salem, provided that the Vessel by 
whom you write is bound for that Place. We have a store 
there & it saves postage." 

[CXXXV.] "Boston Nov. i^' 1774 Mess^^ John & Francis 

Bull 
("enclosing copy of the letter of September 17''*) 

"We duly reed your favors of the 16''^ July & 14''' 
August. We are oblig'd to you for the sensible & well wrote 
Pamp[h]let you sent ; we wish it may make the impression it 
ought. We are now in a State of the [most] anxious 
Soli[ci]tude waiting the Determination of Great Britain upon 



Letter-Books^ 1 773-1 776. 201 

receiving the Ace'* of the Opposition made here. God grant 
a favorable Issue to them things." 

[CXXXVI.] "Nov. 9. 1774. To Mr Joseph Antt of 

Sheffield. 

" We are obHged to you for your kind sympathy in our 
pubHc Calamities, & most earnestly wish Commerce might 
return to its former channel by an equitable adjustment of the 
dispute between the Mother Country & the Colonies till 
which time we must discontinue our Importation." 

[CXXXVII.] " November 9. 1774. To R. Prime & Co. 

" . . . . yr kind favor of 24''' August. . . . Consider 
ourselves much obliged by the friendly Concern you manifest 
for us. You will before this comes to hand be informed of 
the proceedings of the Congress at Philadelphia, according to 
which we expert to discontinue our Importations for the 
present. Happy shall we account that Day w'"^ puts an End 
to the Disputes between your Country & ours. God 
Almighty hasten it." 

[CXXXVIII.] November 21^' 1774. The firm send to 
Harrisons & Ansley bills of Exchange for X^8oo, bought on a 
Month's Credit. They hope to raise the money within the 
time, but if this cannot be done "must draw on you at 60 or 
90 days & endeavor to replace it immediately." 

[CXXXIX.] "Boston Nov. 21^' 1774. Auchincloss & Lang. 
"The Packets we are informed will in future come to this 

D D 



202 The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 

Port. Please to send your favors by them, as that will save 
us Postage from Salem." 

[CXL.] "Boston Dec. lo"' 1774. Mess" Harrisons & Ansley. 
Davison & Vessell from Marblehead. 

"... We should gladly write on the times if we knew 
what to say, but all is in a state of suspence, waiting the de- 
termination of our Fate from the New Parliament. Should 
Administration determine on pushing their Measures they will 
meet with all the Opposition America can make, how great 
that will be, or what its effedl none can say — the Minds of the 
People are embitter'd beyond what you can well conceive — 
the Provincial Congress w"^"^ sat at Cambridge is just dissolv'd 
after coming to the most Extraordinary resolution, that if our 
Rights are not restor'd no English Goods shall be vended after 
the 10''^ of Odlober next, but Inventory's taken of all on hand, 
the Goods to be Shutt up in the Stores where they happen 
then to be — in case anyone refuses to give in an Inventory his 
Goods are by force to be taken from him & kept by Com- 
mittees for that purpose This is done least Goods introduced 
after i^' of Dec'' should be sold under pretention of being 
imported before that time. You can't but observe that 
nothing but the extremest necessity could justify these de- 
sperate measures — this necessity the People consider them- 
selves drove to. 

" We are very quiet in this Town. Our Governor is con- 
stantly exerting himself to prevent every cause of Uneasiness 
between the Soldiers & Inhabitants 6c indeed his prudence 
& humanity have been so conspicuous, that those who were 
most prejudic'd against him, are now impressed with very 



Letter-Books^ 1773-1776. 203 

favourable Ideas of him, & can't help speaking of him with 
respedl. We wish this may last. 

" A very large Committee, no less than 63, have been 
chosen by the Town this Week to execute the resolutions of 
the general Congress with regard to the Non Importation of 
English Goods — there is great jealousy that Goods will be im- 
ported in This Transport on her return — it is said she goes to 
bring necessarys for the Army & it is suspected that Attempts 
will be made to get other Goods in with them — however every 
Caution be used to prevent the Sale of such Goods." 

[CXLL] " Dec. 10''^ Our trade is now totally stopt with 
regard to importing Goods." 

[CXLII.] Dec. 2f' 1774. To Mr. Isaac Dent. 

The firm acknowledge a letter of September i", by Capt. 
Hood, " as also the Powder shipt on board the Lydia." 

By April loth 1775 they are sending their letters by vessels 
sailing from Newport. A week after the battle of Lexington, 
when 16,000 yeomanry were besieging Governor Gage in 
Boston, John Amory and his wife sailed for England from 
Marblehead, having left their children at a farm owned by 
Mrs. Amory 's brother, at Sterling, near Lancaster. Thomas 
Amory, with William and Nathaniel Coffin, ^®^ signed the 
Address to General Gage. They and Jonathan also, remained 
in Boston during the siege. The elder William Coffin died 
there in June, and his wife,^^'" Ann Holmes, in August. 



204 T^he Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

[CXLIIL] " Boston May 30"' 1775. Messrs. Harrisons & 
Ansley P'^ the Thomas via Bristol. 
"Sirs 

" We wrote you last the lo'"^ April, Copy of which 
was forwarded by Cap' Brown with whom went Passenger our 
Joseph Taylor. Cap' Callahan sailed from Marblehead y' 
26''' inst for London ; with him went our J"° Amory & his 
Lady. On the Arrival of these Vessels you will be informed 
of the distrad:ed State of this country — And we cannot say that 
has since happened opens a better Prospeft, but the contrary. 
The Cerberus is order'd to return to England again, by which 
means we are favored with a safe oppertunity to send inclosed 
the following 2"'* Bills, which we request your particular Care 
of, they being for Mr Amory's own Use. . . . [The bills 
amount to j^t^zo Sterling] . . . the first of these bills are with 
Mr. J"° Amory. We shall rejoice when it shall be in our 
Power to remit to you further but unhappily it is not now." 

[CXLIV.j "Boston, S'^'' June 1775. Mr Mark Huish. 

"Sir, 

" Our last Respedls to you were of 17''' Feb since 
which we have your much esteemed Favours of 14 Jan & 
29 March. 

" We consider ourselves individually obliged by your 
Friendship for the American Colonies in general as well as 
the many kind Expressions & Instances of it to us in particular ; 
& tho' your Endeavours to serve America in Parliament have 
failed, yet with us you have all the Merit of the most suc- 
cessful Application. Long before you receive this you will 



Letter-Books^ 1773-1776. 205 

have heard that Hostilities have been commenced between the 
King's Troops & the People of this Province, ever since which 
time this Town has been invested Thus our Prospedl of Peace 
is removed far distant. What the Event will be God only 
knows. We for our part heartily wish for a Accomodation 
& a lasting union with G. B. — Our Partners Mr. Jno. Amory 
& J. Taylor are both gone for England. You will doubtless 
see & can better learn from them the particular State of Affairs 
here than from us by Letter, as Nothing very important has 
happened since the departure of the former. 

" We have likewise to acknowledge the Receipt of your 
Favor of the 12"' Feb. delivered us by Capt Sherwin who 
arrived here with Gen. Howe the 25''' Ult° in the Cerberus. 
We have as yet seen but little of this Gentleman (he having 
been much engaged since his Arrival) but shall be happy in 
rendering him any service or civilities in our Power, as from 
the little we have seen of him he appears to be a Gentleman 
of worth & merit, but especially as he is your Friend, 

" We ever shall be pleased with an Opportunity in this 
or any other way of shewing with how much Esteem & 
Regard 

" We are. Sir 

" Your Friends & Hum. Serv." 

The letters of June 5th and 30th, 1775, make no allusion 
to public affairs; the latter of the two, to Prime & Co., is 
marked " Inclosed in one to Mr. John Amory." 

[CXLV.] "Boston, Odtober 9*'' 1775. Harrison & Ansley. 
"... We much regret the departure 6c loss of that time 



2o6 The Descendants of Hugh Afnory. 

when our constant dealings furnished subjefts for the most 
frequent correspondence. We most ardently wish for the Return 
of that Time of Peace & Security, but cannot say we have 
much Hope of its being speedy. 

" Our present situation is much like that we were in some 
months ago, of which you are doubtless well informed. The 
Scenes before us are those of Fortifications & of Camps but no 
important Adlion has taken place of late. [Encloses letters to 
Messrs. H. & A.'s care ; and bills for jTi i8 Q)s. ^d. to be paid 
to Mr John Amory.] We are much mortified that we can 
make no greater Remittances. . . ." 

[CXLVL] " Dec 4. 1775. Messrs Harrisons & Ansley. 

" . . . . [Encloses £^bo\ t^s. for John Amory.] . . . 

". . . . It is our constant Endeavour to make Sale of our 
Goods and to colleft our Debts, but as many of our Goods are 
unsaleable in the Garrison tho well adapted to our former 
Custom ; and as very few Opportunities offer to colledt Debts 
in a Country now in Arms, we can raise Money but very 
slowly to our great Mortification. We hope by constant 
Attention however to colled, enough to discharge our Debts in 
England, whatever may be the fate of the rest ; at the same 
time we are sensible the Matter must be attended with Delays 
which nothing but our distresses will excuse. 

" We are confident the Candour of our friends in England 
will not impute that to us which is occasioned by public 
Calamities, and are determined that nothing in our power to 
do shall be wanting to deserve their indulgence." 



Letter-Books J i'J'JZ~'^17^' 



207 



[CXLVII.] "Jan 10 1776 Mess" Harrisons & Ansley." 

[Encloses jT 1,020 for John Amory.] ". . . . We wish 
you the Compliments of the Season, and the happy return of 
many a peacefull Year." On January 23rd, 29th, and 31st the 
letters enclose bills amounting in all to ^^636, " to be employed 
as John Amory shall direct." 








CHAPTER XIII. 
Letter-Books, 1776 — 1781. 

Y the end of February Washington had begun to 
make entrenchments on Dorchester Heights in 
|S order to command Boston with his guns while 
^ making a double attack on it from the north and 
west. Seeing that the place could be held no longer, General 
Howe prepared to take to the ships ; but the inhabitants saw 
danger from both sides : General Washington's assault would 
do great damage, and the British troops as they withdrew 
might fire the town. Mr. T. C, Amory says that on March 
8th Deacon Newell, Chairman of the Selectmen, requested ^^^ 
Thomas and Jonathan Amory and their friend Peter Johonnot 
to carry to General Washington a paper prepared by four 
Seleftmen, proposing that the British troops should be allowed 
to retire unmolested, on condition of doing no harm. The 
offer was really authorized by General Robertson ad:ing for 
Howe, but this could not be put in writing, nor was the person 
named to whom the paper was addressed. The messengers 
however delivered it to General Washington, whereupon 
Colonel Learned on his behalf wrote them an answer to the 
effeft that no notice could be taken of a letter neither addressed 



Letter-Books., 1 776-1 781. 209 

to himself nor authenticated by General Howe. Nevertheless 
the agreement was kept as if it had been formally made, and 
as nothing was reported Ministers were able to deny to an 
angry Opposition in Parliament that there had been any-com- 
promise or stipulation between General Howe and the rebels, 
although the Duke of Manchester affirmed that he had private 
information of it. 

On the Evacuation Thomas Amory withdrew for a time 
to Watertown, doubtful of his position at Boston. His wife's 
brothers, William and Nathaniel (the last Royal Cashier of 
Customs), and her sister's husband, Gilbert Deblois, left the 
colony with General Howe's army. Each took several sons 
with him, but Deblois and William Coffin left their wives and 
daughters. Mrs. Deblois was so fierce a Loyalist that she 
never would be reconciled to one or two of her sons who 
became Whigs. It is said, on the testimony of Sir Guy Carleton 
and others, that her brother John Coffin by his resolution and 
watchfulness played the chief part in saving Quebec and Canada 
to England. He had left Boston in 1775, taking his wife and 
twelve children in his own schooner to Quebec. On arriving 
he began at once to build a distillery, but by the end of the 
year was defending it as a battery with Barnsfare's guns. The 
American attacking party fell before it, January ist, 1776.^^* 

[CXLVIII.] "Boston, Sept 17. 1776. Messrs Harrisons & 
Ansley. P. Capt Wilson via France & by Mr Phillip 
Jarvis, son of Cap. Rob. Jarvis, via France ; he sails from 
Nantucket, October 1776. 

"Gent 

" Inclosed is W" Ross second Bill on Sam' Bean Esq' 

E E 



2IO The Descenda?tts of Hugh Amory. 

London for one hundred Pounds sterling, as also Patrick Reid 
on Dunlap & Wilson for fifty Pounds sterling. These Bills I 
bought of the Gent" here who complained of the want of 
Money, and as they were bound Home & will be on the Spot, 
in case the Bills are not accepted you will be able to get the 
Money of them — some of them are Gent" of Antego who go 
Home in Creighton, Capt Moore. 

" I have long looked for my Brother Home and am much dis- 
appointed in not seeing him as by his last letter I received dated 
Dec. 8. 1775 he seem'd determined to come Home suppose 
the Difficulty of getting here is the Reason. I much wish to 
have him here as I find it very difficult to do Business without 
him. I have given Cap" Ross a Letter for him under cover to 
you which if he is in England beg the favor of your given him. 

" I have indors'd the Bills to my Brother & in his absence 
to you, if he is in England please to deliver the Bills to him : 
if not please to receive the Money on account of Amorys 
Taylor & Rogers." 

[CXLIX.] A letter, dated Boston, 06tober 14th, 1776, be- 
ginning " Friend Collins" and signed Jona Amory, is crossed out 
and marked " Not sent." It shows that Amorys and Taylor had 
entrusted jr6oo sterling to William Barrell of Philadelphia, 
who was to give all his time to the business (apparently of 
trading with the money) and to divide the profits with them. 
Mr. Barrell had now died, and Mr. Hancock, taking charge of 
all his effiedts, had written to Boston to Mr. Joseph Barrell 6c 
Mr. Sam Elliot \sic\. Mr. Eliot wrote to tell Mr. Hancock that 
Jona. Amory was the person to whom all William Barrell's 
possessions should be handed over, & that Amory wished 



Letter-Books^ 1 776-1 781. 211 

them to be put in the care of Mr, Collins, whose brother 
Ezra wrote from Boston requesting him to accept the charge. 
The letters of Mr. Ezra Collins and Mr. Eliot were given to 
Amory, who thought of going to Philadelphia himself, but 
finding that he could not leave home, was now forwarding 
them. Mr. Hancock, he remarks, " has put the two Appren- 
tices to board, but the Death of Mr Barrell certainly frees 
them, therefore I cannot see the Necessity of keeping them at 
board, tho' I should be sorry to turn them suddenly on the 
World, and should be willing to do anything that is reasonable. 
... I think Mr Hancock will not refuse to place the thing 
under your care." This letter was rewritten and sent on 
Oftober 19th. Jonathan speaks of himself as " the only Partner 
that is here now." [CL.] November iith, 1776, he agrees 
to discharge a mortgage on Joseph Beeman's Farm which he 
had been inclined to purchase. 

[CLE] "Boston November 12. 1776. 
" Dear Brother 

"I find by your letter to Mr Sam' Rogers of 15 
July that fell into my Hands by the Julyus Ceasor being 
brought in here that you rec'* my Letter 2 May from New- 
bury and my Desire you should come Home which I ardently 
wish for. I am sorry I did not mention that you could come 
from Hallifax here tho it was not so well known as at Present, 
no Person having come from there at that Time. I have 
wrote you many letters sense mentioning both New York and 
Hallifax from either of which places you might get Home. I 
find it extreem dificult to do Buisness without you. ... I 
being out of town it is dificult to gett Letters sent from here. 



212 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

I hear Mr Rogers is gorn England, he carried some papers 
with him that I wish much were here. 

" I wish I could have purchased Exchange that was there 
as the extreem dificulty of getting protested Bills back if can 
possibly tell of any should be very glad to send. 

" Your Daughters are at Sister Payne's. Rufus at College, 
John with me, your other Boys at Colchester, they would have 
ben brought down with the Girls, Mrs Deming had lost all 
her Children, her Husband sick at Gen^ Washinton's Army 
& she could not part with them. Jon^ and Bill I shall send for." 

[CLII.] December 2nd, 1776, he writes to Collins, at 
Philadelphia, whose report of Mr. Barrell's affairs has been 
received. Barrell had, rather in defiance of his agreement 
with Amorys & Taylor, engaged in the India trade and in 
privateering. He had also bought real estate, which, however, 
" may be no disadvantage in the present situation of our 
Currency," though *' I was in hopes he had reserved some 
hard Money to discharge his Debts in England. I am very 
sorry to hear that the entries in his Books are not reputably 
made." Collins has " kept J. Reed," which Amory approves 
as, with his assistance as to the books and accounts, it may be 
easier to settle the estate. The goods had better not be dis- 
posed of till there is time to ascertain their real value. What 
supplies Barrell furnished to the Army can be learned from 
Mr. Mifflin when he returns from the Camp. No doubt Mr. 
Hancock will deliver the Money he holds, to Collins, who 
will take out administration and then settle with the owners 
of the vessel that had letters of mark, with Mr. Gerry, etc. 
From giving fuller directions Amory excuses himself, as he 



Letter-Books^ 1 776-1 781. 213 

has the whole business of his firm to do, and is in an " ill 
state of health." 

[CLIIL] On December 21st he tries to colledt some part 
of what is due to him from the estate of a man named Irving 
who has died, and who was tenant of a farm of his but never 
paid him anything. He does not wish at present to sell the farm. 

[CLIV.] On the 20th of January, 1777, Jonathan sends a 
letter and ^Tgo to his brother, to the care of Harrisons and 
Ansley, requesting that if John has left England the bills may 
be put to the credit of his firm. A note is added in the 
Letter-Book that "This was sent by Mr Timmins to Mr John 
Amory with the Bills which Mr Timmins carries loose in his 
Pocket. . . . he saild from Plymouth for Ireland Feb. 2. 1777." 

In February, a letter is " sent, by Cap. Richardson a 
Prisoner going to England via New York," with " Tober 
second bill for j^8i & N. B. Lyde second bill for ^90 sterg." 

[CLV.] Feb. 25. 1777. Jonathan writes to Collins: 
trusts to his judgment about Barrell's effedls, agrees with him 
" in sentiment as to taking paper money, & do not see how you 
can avoid it, & know not what is best, as it is uncertain wether 
we shall have any other. I was some time past unwell and 
much depressed in my Mind owing to my great concern from 
the Times, my Partners absent, I not used to Business, fearing 
ruin to them from my conduct more especially my Brother 
who had earned what Money we have & has ten Children in 
this Country, six of them Boys. I have been in the Country 



214 'The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

for my Health & thank God I am now better. While I was 
unwell & in the Country I got my Brother Mr Edward Payne 
to answer some of your Letters, he mention'd to you that I had 
not been able to purchase any Exchange since the Town was 
open in which he was in part mistaken, I have purchased 
some tho' but little, about ^^600 sterling tho' for some of that 
I paid part silver, but had it all at par and know not where to 
get any more. ... I suppose with you it is impossible to 
remit any produce to England, & if it was possible to do it 
anywhere else to center there, it must be at Mr Haley's 
Risque. I cannot find he has any Attorney or Agent if he 
had I suppose it was Mr Deblois who is gone from here. I had 
wrote my Brother before you desired it of Mr Barrell's death 
who no doubt must have acquainted Mr Haley. I wrote a 
letter the other day to him acquainting him of your ad- 
ministering, & left it as I went a Journey, to go by Mr 
Timmins. When I returned it was deliver'd to me open not 
being suffer'd go, it having a Bill of Exch^ in it, . . . Mr 
Joseph Barrell has lately lost his wife. ... I proposed to lay 
out one Hundred Dollars for State Lottery Tickets, but do not 
learn that any are a comming this way, should be glad you 
would purchase ten Tickets for Amorys Taylor & Rogers and 
send me the Numbers" — of which on April 14th he acknow- 
ledges the receipt. 

The next letter shows already the question of Federalism 
as opposed to State Rights : the new Government facing the 
same difficulty which the old one had had, viz.. Colonial 
defence with the colonies unwilling to be taxed for each 
other's safety. 



Letter-Books^ 1776-1781. 215 

[CLVL] "March 12. 1777. To Collins. 
" Mr Walter Barrell was a Clerk in one of the Offices of 
the Customs here under the Commissioners, I believe fifty 
pounds sterling a year & with your just observations on his 
present state, no Man can suppose him a suitable Person to 
administer on his Brother's Estate as he can have nothing till 
the Debts are paid. — Our Assembly have passed an A61 here 
stating the Price of Articles in Order to prevent the Moneys 
Depreciating, but I think if we are to be a separate State we 
ought to support that State by a good Medium, and I know 
no other way than that every State should be taxed. No man 
can say we have not Money enough for a Medium & if there 
is not a tax on the Farmer & the monied Man there will not 
be Provisions raised for the Army another year, the Farmer 
will not raise a Cow or a Hog or a Bushell of Grain more 
than for his own Family, & I think we had better submit to 
be taxed by ourselves or our own Representatives than be a 
subdued People. If each State is left to themselves they will 
be making on every occasion a Pretence to get Articles from 
other States, as some Colonies formerly did, 6c stopping 
Articles going from State to State, & be too narrow & con- 
tracted in their Views. Excuse these few Lines on Politicks 
but you are near Head Quarters & if you agree with me hope 
you may do some good." 

[CLVII.] April 4"^ ^777-, he finds that Collins did not 
mean Walter, but Theodore, Barrell, which makes the matter 
quite different, and all remarks in the letter of March i 2'*^ are 
withdrawn. But if Gen. Mifflin understood the Barrell and 
Amory contrad: he could not think of taking away the 



2i6 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

administration from Collins. Mr. Eliot wonders that he or 
Theodore Barrell should wish to do so. . . . " The Gentle- 
men of the [blank] of the Massachusetts State say they are 
dissolved & that I must petition the General Assembly for 
the Ballance of Mr Barrell's Acd: & that you must send me a 
Power of Attorney to discharge it, & that no doubt they will 
pay it. The Spring preceding Mr Barrell's death he re- 
quested of his Sister Eliot the Loan of a Miniature Picture of 
their Father which was accordingly forwarded by the Lady 
of Dr Morgan. As Mrs Eliot holds this Pidure in the 
highest Degree of Estimation I shall be obliged by your 
carefully reserving it till you shall find a safe Hand to convey 
it by. ... I have inclosd you a Letter from Mr Eliot to 
Gen. Mifflin." 

A week after the date of this last letter, Mrs John Amory 
died in London. " In the vestibule of the Church of St 
Laurence Jewry ,^®^ against the inner side of an arch, on a white 
marble tablet of an oval shape about three feet by two, is this 
inscription : 

" In a Vault 
NEAR THIS Place 

LIETH INTERR'd THE REMAINS 

OF Katherine 

LATE Wife of 

Mr John Amory, Merchant, 

OF Boston in New England 

She died 

April the i i'^" 1777 

Aged 48 years." 



Letter-Books^ 1 776-1 781. 217 

The Petition (page 239) should be read here for the story 
of John and Katherine's intended return home in 1776, of his 
renewed efforts to return after her death, and of his making 
his way to Massachusetts only to be expelled. The Assembly 
which sent him back to Rhode Island seems to have been that 
of 1778, which passed the A61 of Proscription and Banish- 
ment, I suppose — a point easily ascertainable at Boston from 
the State records — that he was among the three hundred and 
eight persons named in that Aft. A new Ad: seems to have 
been passed for his restoration in 1784, precisely as for the 
restoration of Thomas Brattle, one of the proscribed. John 
did not remain in Rhode Island, but crossed the ocean again 
and spent the five years of waiting partly in London, partly at 
Brussels. News of him soon after his banishment came by 
way of Quebec, John Coffin writing to Thomas Amory : ^^*' 

"Quebec y'' 3"' Nov. 1779. 

" Dear Brother 

"Mr Lowder & Mr Dabadie (who were taken 
prisoners by a scouting Party from Quebec in their Journey 
from Machias to Penobscot & now sent for Halifax) give me 
an opportunity of reminding you of negleft in point of writing. 
We have wrote you repeatedly & have not rec'd a single 
Letter from you or any of our Boston Friends this year, 
neither have we had a single line from New York, & what 
makes it more aggravating is Sister Coffin's having been at 
'York, if you cou'd conceive the pleasure your Letters afford 
us, you certainly wou'd indulge us more frequently notwith- 
standing you are not fond of writing. — I reed a Letter from 
your Brother John dated Cork y' i6''> Ap' 1779 at which time 

F F 



2i8 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

He was very well and going for England. ... I have like- 
wise Letters from Brothers Gib. Deblois & Nat Coffin dated 
in Ap' last, Bro. Nat had been very unwell but had got 
pretty well again, Mr. Deblois was in good Health. I have 
a strong inclination to see some of my particular Friends of 
Boston, I wou'd meet you half way for the sake of a few 
Hours conversation, but as I know you wont agree to this 
proposal, must defer our chat, till Great Britain & America 
are in better humour with each other. I have a thousand 
things to say to Sister Amory & you, but as this may be an 
open Letter before it reaches you can say no more than that 
your Family have our most sincere wishes for their Health & 
happiness. Mrs Coffin as well as myself beg to be re- 
member'd most affisdlionately to your Brothers & Sisters, the 
Miss Johonnots, the Brindley Family, Unkle & Aunt Steevens, 
the Lowder Family & Do6t Lloyd & dare say you'l not 
forget the same to Sister Deblois & Molly Coffin's Families. 
Mrs Coffin has wrote her sister Sheaffe by this oppertunity. 
I am anxious to know what she is doing as I am apprehensive 
she feels a great share of the distress of these disagreeable 
times. Mr Nat Taylor & Wife are well, I suppose they 
write by this opperty Shou'd be happy in hearing you & Mrs 
Amory & others of our Friends were bless'd with as great a 
share of Health & Spirits as this Northern Climate has fur- 
nish'd us with. Pray write us frequently & be as particular 
as times will admit, a very good method of conveyance is 
under cover to Maj. Handfield (our old Friend) at Halifax. 

" I am with great Esteem 

" your affectionate Brother 

"Jn° Coffin." 



Letter-Books^ 1776-1781. 219 

[CLVIIL] " Boston Nov. 19. 1779. Nathan Carpenter 
Captain of the Flag. 

" My Dear Brother 

" I wrote you by Capt Carnew who saild in a 
Flag for London about ten Days. I mention the Recept of 
yours July 11. ... As to what you mentioned your friends 
think it best not to do anything upon it at present, and some 
of them think it would be best for you to Reside in Holland, 
& that if you were at Amsterdam there might be some Com- 
mission Business got for you, of purchasing goods to come 
that way to London. How long the war will last you will 
be the best Judge that side the water, as there can be no 
peace without Independence, and Consent of France & Spain 
to peace. Tho' our money has depreciated yet the internal 
strength of the Country is greater than when the war first 
began as there is hardly a Town but what has got more rate- 
able Polls in it than at the first of the War, and tho' many 
Individuals suffer yet the farmer & the bulk of the people 
get by the war, & therefore Great Britain ought not to think 
of ever getting peace without allowing Independence. . . . 
Our Family & Friends are well & sends their love 

" Yr afFeftionate Brother." 

Jonathan now begins to ship Potash again, and to order in 
exchange shoe-bindings, calicoes, cambrick, buckram, white 
silk gauze, black lutestring ribbon, sarsnet, satin ribbon, 
knives and forks, pen-knives, jack-knives; window-glass 7 by 9, 
and 10 by 8; red-ground bandanna handkerchiefs; town- 
made linings, Irish linings [/.r., linens]. 



2 20 The Descendants of Hugh Aniory. 

[CLIX.] "December 13. 1779. . . . We have had the 
unhappy News of the Death of Mr William Greene," 

06tober 12''' 1780, he orders black calimancoes, shalloons 
of all colours ; lutestrings, black, pink and green ; black India 
taffetys, and Persians and Nank. ; Irish linens, China calicoes 
well covered. 

[CLX.] " Boston Sept 13"^ 1780. P. Capt Haden. 

"My dear Brother 

" By a Coppy of a Letter of Mr Hodgson the 
original of which went by Capt Haden who throwd his 
Letters over Board, I perceive there was two Letters of yours 
to me thrown over Board, which I was extreem sorry as I 
have not had the pleasure of a Line from you for a long while. 
Dodtor Smith show'd me a letter of yours to him, wherein 
you desire the pi<Sure of your Children, & also your desire to 
petition for your Return Home which I am very desirous of 
& also desirous of petition for, but on consulting your ablest 
friends, they advise against doing of it yet. I was deter- 
mined to do it this Sessions in the Name of yourself, your 
Children and Brothers & Sisters, but when I was about doing 
it Mr Lowell advis'd against it, it was thought better to let it 
alone till the new Constitution took place, which will be next 
Month, — for many Reasons too long to enumerate for a 
Person who loves writing so little as I do, & which you may 
suggest. If I cannot obtain Leave for your Return, I shall 
then set some Limmer to take your Children's Likeness & 
send to you. — I have had a Libel left at my House, R. T. 



Letter-Books^ 1776-1781. 221 

Payne States Attorney, E. Price, Clarke of the Court, Libel- 
ling your House, the Store, House hot of Jennings, House in 
Corn Hill hot of Williams formerly Nancy McNiel's, House 
& Land in Jamaica Plain, Pasture of fifty Acres in Roxbury, 
all in this County, being bought in your Name & mine, & 
suppose if they recover them they will go to Libell what 
there is in other Countys, but I am in hopes to save them by 
getting leave for your return to your family, & proving you 
no Enemy to your Country, which I am sure you are not. 
But if you are deprivd of your Estate be assurd whatever 
belongs to me I will at all times divide with you and your 
Children, & I hope you will not distress yourself but keep up 
your spirits & make yourself as happy as you can. I sent by 
Mr Charles Storrer to New York to the care of Mr W"" 
Taylor to be remitted to you two hundred Guineas which 
hope you will receive. 

"This will be inclosd to the Care of Mr Hodgson 6c to 
whom I shall enclose for you the first Bill of two Setts of 
Exchange, the one for 2000 Livers, & the other for 1500 
Livers. I have purchased Seventy Pounds Sterling by Mr 
Penny which hope soon to have & send you. By Mr 
Hodgson Letter I find you were gone to Brussels & that you 
were in good Health & Spirits, which made me happy. By 
missing your Letters I am at a Loss to know your plan. I 
think it is a pity you did not send duplicates. Mr Hodgson 
mentioned a Trunk & Box which you sent by Haden & by 
Mr Hodgson's copy which came to Hand by Capt Brown in 
to Newbury, I received a Bill of Lading for them. The Box 
has been deliverd to Brother Thomas but the Trunk is lost. 
I can know nothing of the Value of it. Please let me know 



222 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

the Value of it in as clear a Manner as you can that in case I 
should be obliged to sue for it, I may recover it. 

" Your sister Mrs Taylor is arrived here in a Flag from 
New York two days ago. She is in a Low State of Health, 
but we are in hopes her Native Air & friends will help her 
to recover her Health, Your Children are all well. 

" Your affe<5tionate Brother. 

" I have remitted to Mr John Hodgson the four first Bills 
of four setts of Exchange, three for four thousand Livers 
each, one for 3998 Livers, drawn by de Grandian on Monsieur 
Beaudart de St James Tresure de la Marine, Paris, which I 
have desired him to deliver you or the produce. Half of this 
money I should think it best to send over here in Merchandize 
such as you think will answer best, & by the best Vessel for 
sailing & force that is coming this way, & to insure with 
you — but I leave it wholly with you to dispose of it as you 
think best." 

[CLXL] "Boston Dec. 16. 1780. 

" My dear Brother 

"... I observe what you say as to your declin- 
ing Commission Business. When we proposed the matter, 
we thought it might be an Employment to your mind you 
would like, but I am sure I have not a wish that you should 
pursue it without you chose it, & I am sure you have done 
your share of Business and Hope you will make yourself as 
happy as you can where you are, and what ever Estate I have 
I will always share with you. 

" I have given J"" & Tho* who are in Partnership about 



Letter-Books^ 1776-1781. 223 

One Hundred & three Pounds Sterling of Goods at their first 
Cost, and fitted up the shop in the Store fi^r them, running 
the partition so as just to take in the Chimney, and it makes 
a much better shop than it did before, as it was then too 
deep, and they retail considerable, buying Goods here by 
wholesale and selling them again by retail and as the Trade is 
not free everybody is asking Gold & silver or paper as they 
please — paper having been for a Considerable while a j ^ for 
one, & their Goods will fetch them three sterling for One 
that are saleable, what I have given them enables them to 
carry on their business very well and [as] at present they have 
no shop Rent to pay and they live with me, they may lay up 
something. John is very industrious and as you well suppose 
very ernest. Thomas has been out of Health which has in 
some measure kept him from so freely attending to it, but is 
getting better which will enable him to pursue it closely. 
He writes a very good hand and is a good Accomptant, and 
tho' under age as it is the fashion for young folks under age 
to be in business now it does very well. 

"... This Exchange I leave intirely to you to dispose 
of, but should think it best that you should keep some Money 
by you or put some little in some fund as the times are so 
very uncertain. We have a great deal of Money due to us 
here yet, but it is uncertain whether the tender Adl will be 
repeal'd ; and if it should our situation is such from your 
absence that I must depend on the Good Will of those that 
owe us, to pay me. In order to buy this Exchange (some 
1 00000 livres) I have parted with almost all the Gold & 
Silver I had. I expeft to have about thirty thousand livers 
more soon, if you should think proper to send over some 



224 ^'^^^ Descendants of Hugh Atnory, 

Goods. An assortment of almost all Sorts will be best, tho' 
India Goods in general answer as well as most goods, Linnens 
are good, were most in Demand, but are now as plenty as 
anything, tho by the time you may send if you send any, the 
case may be alter'd. Woollen Goods & Clothing is now as 
scarce as anything, & if you should send Goods it may be 
towards next fall before they arrive, they may answer as well 
as anything. Calimancoes, Bindings, Calicoes, Gauzes, Pins, 
Needles, Knives & forks, Pen-knives and useful Hardware has 
hitherto sold well & high, but the taking Gold & silver as the 
Seller pleases, which is the case now, has made everything 
tolerable plenty. If any person should incline to send goods 
on Commission to John 6c Thomas or to me they may be as 
well disposed of as by anybody, and if the French Fleet & 
Army remain here. Exchange will always [be] to be had. I 
put a confidence in this Exchange as I think if these bills are 
not paid it will be impossible for the French Fleet & Army 
to subsist here. I have been hitherto cautious of Bills know- 
ing that if they came back protested it would be impossible to 
get Justice but be obliged to take paper money for them, 
which I think will not be the case now. If Trade had been 
as free at first as it is now, I should have done much better 
with goods, but in fa6l there has been so many Regulating 
Bills, and so many A<3:s forcing people to sell their goods for 
this wicked paper money which sunk in one's hands, not 
knowing what to do with it, that it has hurt me pro- 
digious^y. 

" The Friends of Mr Brattle are a going to proffer a 
Petition for his return here & your Friends think it not best 
to proffer a Petition for you till his is answered. ..." 



. 'Letter -Books ^ 1776-1781. 225 

[CLXII.] "Jan. 11'^ 1781, Since the above I have pur- 
chased the following Bills of Exchange wh. I now enclose 
, . . [amounting to over 23,000 livres + $300 -f- ^Tioo 
Sterling.] " 

[CLXIIL] "March 2"'* 1781. 

" Dear Brother 

" I yesterday received yours of the S'"* November, 
Brussels, by the Mars, with the Petition. The General 
Court is just a going to rise so that there is no opportunity to 
present it this Session, and as Mr Brattle's Petition tho' once 
accepted this Session yet has been reconsidered in a larger 
House & voted to lay on the Table, it is not thought proper 
to attempt anything till the Court sits again. . . . The Tender 
A61 making Paper at the Nominal sum is repealed. The 
Paper Money is still a tender at the rate the Judges shall set 
it, and if I could receive it now as Bills of Exchange are low, 
I could do very well with it. However, but one Person has 
paid me anything yet which was Mr Hinckley who paid me 
six hundred Pounds for which I gave him Credit eight 
hundred pounds which I immediately turned into Exchange. 
I shall endeavour to colledl what I can & shall lay it out 
direftly for Exchange as I hope this Exchange will be paid. 
If it is not we shall be in a bad Plight as their not being paid 
will intirely ruin the Indorsers or most of them, therefore 
should think it best that if they are not paid immediately & 
should be a prospect of their being paid, it would be best to 
keep them some time by you, rather than send them back 
immediately, but this you will do as you think best about. 

G G 



2 26 The Descenda?tts of Hugh Amory. 

In regard to colledling Debts I am not very Sanguine about 
colledling much, as considering our situation it must lay much 
with the Debtor. I have not received anything this two 
years except what is above mentioned. I am not discouraged 
about getting you home but as we are not certain of obtaining 
this think it would be best to keep some money by you. I 
shall do my endeavour to remit you what I can, but I have 
layed out my hard money, my Goods are almost gone, debts 
uncertain, your Estate libelled, as also what is bought in your 
Name, a large Family to maintain, but this I do chearfully, 
& will always share with you what I have. 

" I have given Capt Tom Folger a Bill for 4237 livres 
to lay out for me, the chief of which I shall want in the 
Family ... if we could get Goods here that are wanted 
they would sell well . . . what few goods I have left are 
very unsaleable. Your Family is all well. 

" Your afFedionate Brother 

"JoN^ Amory." 






CHAPTER XIV. 

Letter-Books, 1781-1786. 

N Oftober 20th, 1781, Jonathan orders goods for 
the next spring from a merchant at Nantes, to 
whose care he soon after directs a letter for his 
brother : 



[CLXIV.] "Oa:ober26. 1781. To John Amory. 

"... Now we have no other money passing among us 
but silver & gold. ... I have three small Adventures now out 
w^*^ I sent by Gentlemen who went from here to different 
parts of Europe. I now send this way because I think the 
risk from the Western Shore of France less than the German 
Sea. But however I am not without hopes there may be 
peace next Year, for we have this day received Grand Newes 
which is no less than the certain Surrender of Lord Corn- 
wallis at York Town, Virginia, to General Washington & the 
French Army & Navy. Lord Cornwallis is said to have Nine 
Thousand with him, three men of war, & near one Hundred 
Transports. I think the British Ministry must be crazy to 
think of carrying on the war against all the Powers that are 
against her, and her Army so reduced in this part of the 



228 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

world. I do not mean to write about News, but this I will 
say about Carolina & everywhere on this Continent they get 
worsted, & are confined to very narrow limits, & if the 
Winter was not so near there would be a great Chance that 
New York with more than twenty sail of Line of Battle 
Ships would fall into the hands of Americans. With the aid 
of the whole French Fleet [the American force] is vastly 
superior to the English. The French Army hold themselves 
subjedl to the orders of Genl. Washington. 

" I have not desired Mess. Wits & Delmestre [the 
merchants at Nantes] to keep the money or Goods on a near 
prospedl of peace, but if a month should be likely to decide, 
it would be a pity to have the goods at a war price & war 
risk, . . . Your son W'"'^ eyes are better, he is still at 
College. In Vacancy he goes to a French School in this 
Town." 

[CLXV.] " Nov. 24. 1 78 1. To Mr W"' Taylor. 

"... A young man named Jn° Johnson was taken on 
board Capt Waters in a Mast Ship & carried to New York, 
& who we have heard is sick in a Hospital Ship. Should be 
obliged to you to enquire for him either in the Prison Ship or 
Hospital & if he needs money let him have one or two 
Guineas, & that you would do your endeavours to get him 
released or Exchanged, his sister lived with me & we know 
John to be a very clever fellow, being always kind in sup- 
porting his mother & family with what money he could get. 

" Your cousin Amory sends her love to you & family, as 
does also your uncle from Milton. . . ." 



Letter-Books^ 1781- 1786. 229 

[CLXVI.] "Dec. 14. 1 78 1. To John Amory. 

" Your petition is not yet preferred as advised to the 
Contrary at present. Your Estate is not yet tried, I am not 
without hopes of saving it. . . . [Encloses bills.] Fitzm. 
Connor in whose favour they are drawn is a Capt in the 16''' 
Reg' Collin Campbell, Indorser, is a Capt 92 Reg'. I bought 
a Bill of ^Tao Stg. . . . which I sent to your Brother Mr 
Wm. Taylor to Remit to you. If the war continues please 
to invest the Above Bills in Saleable goods & ship to me in 
some fast sailing Vessel of force. . . . The war must make 
things dear in Holland. [England declared war on Holland 
in 1780 because the Dutch, contrary to treaty, were supply- 
ing the Americans with ammunition and other things.] I 
have been told that Tea & some things are dearer in Holland 
than in France. As you are on the spot I should think you 
might find many things manufadlured in France, such as Silks, 
Cambrick, Cloth, Fustians, Jeans, fans, or anything you 
thought would answer. I would just observe to you that 
People dress as much & Extravagant as ever, the Women lay 
out much on their heads in Flowers & Gauze of a good 
white. Hoop petticoats seem to be a crawling in. If there 
should be an Expedition to New York next spring, I should 
suppose a French Fleet & Army will come this way which 
will make a good convoy & perhaps Bills cheap. At present 
they are a rising. I think if the English ant mad they will 
allow Independence & make peace next summer. I hope we 
shall be happy enough to see you once more and you see 
your numerous Children who are at present all well. . . . 
Wishing you health Your affec. Bro. 



230 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

" [Directed to :] Mr John Amory, at Mons. Rigals, 
Merch' Modes, Brussells." 

[CLXVII.] December 7th, 1 78 1 , he speaks of " Mr Lowell 
the lawyer" ; and " my nephew who lived with Mr Lowell and 
is lately sworn into the Inferior Court" [/.f., Rufus G. Amory], 

[CLXVIIL] "April 20. 1782. To John Amory. 

"... One chance [of sending Bills] by a frigate is worth 
six by a common Vessel. . . . There being so many Indorse- 
ments to be put on these Bills, I set 3 of your sons to write 
them. Tho^ had signed one, being drawn in his name on 
which I set Rufus, Katy & Becky to write on one, so that 
you have the handwriting of 5 of your Sons 6c 2 of your 
Daughters on them. 

"... but this you may set down for a certainty there 
can be no peace without these States are a distinft Nation. 
If this Letter and Bills are taken as the Indorsements are so 
particular they can be of no use to the Captors, & as they are 
designed for a person in your situation, banished from a 
Family of 10 Children for taking an Oath to the King of 
England if the Captors would deliver them to Mr Dowling of 
the house of Messrs Dowling Brett & Hardingham of 
London, or Mr W'" Taylor of New York, they will forward 
them to you, & so doing they will do an Adl of humanity to 
a distrest Family." 

Here follows proof that the habit of smuggling with a 
good conscience was not at once thrown off when revenue 
law^ were made by Congress instead of by Parliament. 



Letter-Books^ 1 781-1786. 231 

[CLXIX.] "June 10. 1782. To John. 
"... Coming on here in the winter season . . . is safest, as 
now at this season is very dangerous on the coast, there being 
the Chatham which is a fifty gun ship & 4 or 5 others 
cruising in our Bay. Now if there should be a good oppor- 
tunity for a Vessel from Amsterdam that would be supposed 
to arrive here in November or after, the Chance might be 
good. And the English goods, except they be prize goods 
are prohibited by Congress, yet I think they might be so 
managed that by Invoice and mixed with Holland goods, 
that there would be but little difficulty. And English goods 
sell best, but some Scotch Drilles would sell. Of goods from 
Holland Yarns, Paper, Card-wire, Looking Glasses & other 
things that you may see. People are as extravagant as ever." 

[CLXX.] "June 21. 1782. 

"... You say you sent . . . some things for the 
Children. Your children are all well, and I believe it would 
give you satisfacflion to see the whole ten, more especially the 
three oldest who are in business 6c do very well. Rufus & 
Thomas making a very good appearance as men, & John too 
tho' not so large. When we shall obtain leave for you to 
return I do not know. Your Estate is not yet tried at neither 
of the Courts, and hope the temper of the times will become 
such as you will not be robbed of your Estate. ... I have 
examined the A61 of Congress, the words of which are 'Any 
goods of the growth or manufacture of Great Britain or its 
dependencies shipt after April 82 in Neutral Bottoms or 
Vessells belonging to subjedts of these United States shall be 



232 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

condemned, excepting Prize Goods taken going to a port for 
condemnation ' — but says nothing of Goods shipt in Vessels 
belonging to the Powers at war, such as France, Spain, or 
Holland ; therefore should suppose English Goods in such 
vessels would not be liable to condemnation." 

[CLXXI.] "July 16. 1782. To John. 

" I observe what you say. . . . While the Paper money 
was passing I did not know but all debts would be lost, & 
therefore was careful about suffering all I had passing out of 
my hands, more especially in sending Bills of Exch., as when 
they came back protested I might be obliged to take paper 
for them. When the Depreciation Ad: came out it gave me 
some encouragement, & I remitted more freely what I had 
by me, & when paper money stopt & gold & silver were the 
only medium I was more encouraged, supposing I might 
receive some money for Debts, 6c parted with what English 
& West India goods I had, & turned them into Exchange, 
but I was greatly deceived in the matter having received little 
or nothing. I was in hopes the people who owed me would 
receive money of those who were in Debt to them, but they 
say they cannot pay their debts & now again all hopes are 
blasted for the Court have passed an Adl that if an execution 
comes out against a Debtor, the Debtor may turn out to the 
Sheriff of the County where he lives to be apprized by the 
people of the County either of the following Articles, at the 
Debtor's option — Swine, Sheep, Cattle, Deal Boards, Grain. 
The Sheriff shall take them in pay to deliver them on the 
Spot to the Debtor [Creditor ?] or his Attorney. Now by 
this rule a Man in the Co. of Lincoln, Kennebeck, must take 



Letter-Books, 1 781-1786. .233 

deal Boards or anything the Man chooses to give him at 
Barrington in Berkshire. ... By these means the Debts 
seem to be in a manner lost. And the purchase I made was 
in your name & mine, . . . your part is libelled, & if any 
persons do not pay the rent, it will not do to sue them, & in 
the Country the Tax falling on all real estate, the Tenant 
finds it extremely difficult to raise more than will pay his tax 
& I am paid nothing for rent. All these things ought to be 
taken into the Scale. 

"If I had been a venturesome Man perhaps I might have 
made a great deal, 6c made it easy to comply with your wish, 
or perhaps have lost it all. If I could have seen [foreseen ?] 
the rapid sink of the money I might have made a great deal 
by running in debt, my Credit being very good at that time. 
But as I chose to have money by me before I purchased, I 
seldom got the value of anything I sold or bought. And the 
goods purchased at that time were liable to be taken from you 
by the British if they got the better, & . . . quite unex- 
peftedly Regulating Afts came by which as also by Mobs 
your property was taken from you & a Man was obliged to 
take such a sum for his Articles whether he would or not. In 
short the Paper Money hurt both my Body & Mind, as I was 
adling for others as well as myself, & made me unfit for 
business & entirely incapacitated me ; but I have this Satis- 
faction that tho' my purse is less yet for my years my health 
is good & my mind more resigned to the vicissitudes of 
Fortune. ... A good proportion of the debts I took the 
money was not worth one third, & perhaps before I had an 
opportunity to lay it out, one sixth of what I took it for, and 
the taking this money I could not avoid, for it fell so low 

H H 



2 34 T^f^^ Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

before people dare refuse to take it for Debts, and I dare by 
no means be the first because of your absence which made me 
more an objed: of resentment & as I several times made 
attempts to refuse & endeavouring to get a price for my 
Articles for which I got abused in the Newspapers & Hand- 
bills as a Monopolizer & an Extortioner, and received a 
number of \word illegible unless it is incendiary] letters, and a 
considerable number of people was carted out of Town for 
that, & supposed to be the enemies of their country, & indeed 
my house was searched for me at one time. I took my 
Horse & rode out. I very well remember that after the goods 
were wrote for we wrote an account of the dangerous Times 
wh. were coming on & desired them not to send the goods, 
which however they chose to do & take the risque, of which 
we unhappily trusted out & in a manner lost & I have a right 
to say our troubles are owing to the Representatives of them 
People, the Commons of Old England undertaking to be the 
Commons of America, which they had no right to, and which 
the people of Ireland have very plainly told them they have 
not over them, and as to leaving there can be no people there 
but what are interested." 

The people of Ireland here intended are not the Irish 
Celts (who had no voice at all in the eighteenth century), but 
the English in Ireland, whose position and contention at this 
time were nearly those of the English in America. In both 
countries the colonists' claim was that they, like Scotland from 
1603 to 1707, were subjedt to the English Crown but not to 
the English Parliament. The bitterness of the constitutional 
question lay in the commercial question which it covered. 



Letter-Books^ i 781-1786. 235 

The A6ls of Parliament between 1693 and 1698 had been a 
deliberate attempt to ruin Irish in the interests of English 
commerce, after which the Declaratory Aft of 1766 asserted 
Parliament's right to legislate for Ireland as well as to tax 
America. From the American agitation the colony in Ireland 
gained not only moral support but practical advantage. The 
war emptied Ireland of troops, American privateers attacked 
her coasts, and it was unavoidable that a force of volunteers 
should be raised. These Irish volunteers, it is acknowledged, 
won the legislative independence granted to Ireland in 1782. 

[CLXXIL] "Sept. 2. 1782. 
" Dear Brother . . . 

" We now seem to have a pleasing prosped: of peace 
which hope will not vanish. If it should take place should 
be happy to see you as soon as possible. We do not move yet 
in your Petition to the General Court neither has your estate 
been yet tried. We are afraid a refusal would hasten the 
Trial, & we are in hopes to keep that yet off. Whenever I 
can find the way clear in order that you may come home, the 
first of a peace shall push it ; and should think it advisable 
that you make Interest with the Embassadors from America 
to obtain leave from them as it will be very important to you 
to be here the first of peace, more especially if you bring over 
goods. Tho I think goods are by no means scarce 6c that 
goods will not come so universally from England as they used 
to do but the several Articles will come from the different 
parts of Europe where they are manufadured cheapest. Tho' 
Dottor Franklin & the other Gentlemen may say it is none of 
their business to interfere with the Absentees of the different 



rz36 "The Desce?ida?tts of Hugh Amo?-y. 

States, yet I think a recommendation from them [would?] 
admit you as the times grow more liberal, & as I hope in 
peace they will be still more so. We hear the Congress is to 
sit at Brussels, which I am glad of as it may give you an 
Opportunity to make yourself acquainted with them gentle- 
men & perhaps useful to them. Doft'' Cooper has told me 
he would write D06I'' Franklin by this conveyance & acquaint 
him with the Circumstances of your Affair & beg his Friend- 
ship and Attention. By a Letter which Brother Newell re- 
ceived from Mr Caleb Blanchard we hear of your being in 
London in June." 

[CLXXIIL] "Nov. 21^' 1782. 

"... The trade of this place is now more open for English 
Goods, as the A6ls of this State for condemning are repealed, 
& they may now come from Holland, France or Spain." 

[CLXXIV.] On April 24th, 1783, Jonathan Amory 
writes in his own name a letter to be sent to a number of 
English firms, referring to former dealings which they had 
had with Amorys, Taylor, and Rogers, and announcing that : 
" As Peace has taken place I propose to Import some Goods 
that is in your way." On the 25th he desires "these goods 
may be shipped on ac6t of Jonathan & John Amory, not know- 
ing our future fate in regard to Messrs Taylor & Rogers. . . . 
There seems to be a difficulty at present about receiving Ab- 
sentees." 

[CLXXV.] "May 12. 

" Dear Brother. ... I reed a letter from Mr Geo. De- 
blois from Hallifax acquainting me you would not leave Eng- 



Letter-Books^ 1781-1786. 237 

land till you knew you could be amicably received here. Your 
friends were glad ... as they were afraid if you came over 
you would be put to trouble, as Mr John Erving jr. who went 
from here a Minor has ventured to return is put into Gaol 
with liberty of the yard. The same party who ruled formerly 
& with some ill-natured that rule now. When the Court sets 
I expert they will do something on the matter, & if I am not 
very much dissuaded from it shall set your Children to put in 
a Petition for you." 

[CLXXVI.] "June 15"^ 1783. To Prime & Co. 

"... I have been to Providence, forty miles from Boston 
to see my Brother as he is not yet allowed to come. I carried 
with me six of his children. The People there are more liberal 
than they are here & say he may stay with safety, & when the 
Congress has settled on the subjedl of Absentees expert to get 
him here." 

[CLXXVII.] " Providence, June if" 1783. To Messrs 
Harrison & Ansley. 

" Gentlemen, — It is with peculiar pleasure that we renew 
after so long an intermission a correspondence which we flatter 
ourselves has been to our mutual satisfadlion. , . ." 

Jonathan writes on November 19th, 1783: "My Brother 
is gone from Providence to Newport." On December 28th 
[CLXXVIIL] John writes from Providence : " I have been at 
this place above six months, not being permitted to return to 
Boston, but as the definitive Treaty is now arriv'd I flatter my- 
self I shall soon have that pleasure. In the mean time I have 
the happiness of seeing some or other of my family almost 



238 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

every day as I am only forty miles from Boston." To a M. 
Chouvet, who had been his friend at Brussels [CLXXIX.], he 
writes: "I am only one day's ride from Boston. I had the 
great satisfadlion of finding my Children in good Health ; they 
were grown entirely out of my knowledge except the eldest." 
On the 20th of April, 1784, he writes a business letter, dated 
Boston. 



[CLXXX.] "August 21'' 1784. To Harrison & Ansley. 

"... We have not time to enlarge as we shall this day 
be imploy'd in the melancholy office of attending the remains 
of our Brother Thomas to the Grave. His health has been 
such for some time as to leave us but little hopes of his con- 
tinuing long with us, his death however was very sudden as 
he had been out a walking the day he died." 

[CLXXXL] On the 7th of Odlober the firm inform 
Messrs. Harrison and Ansley that their goods are selling very 
low — " Even at this price we can scarcely raise any money 
from them, & we dare not credit them as the Country is 
almost exhausted of money. We shall therefore desist from 
any further Importations at least till we have paid for what 
we already have." They are sending to Mr. Harrison as a 
gift " a Quintal of the best table fish." In November they 
mention drafts from E. Amory (?>., Elizabeth, the widow of 
their brother Thomas) and that " Sister Amory also wrote by 
Captain Scott to Mr Rogers." On December 2nd John 
Amory is still "not admitted as a citizen." In July of the 
next year they lament " the almost impossibility of collecting 



Letter-Books^ i 781-1786. 239 

our debts." It must have been soon after this that John 
recovered his status and property. 

Mr. T. C. Amory's books of copies from family papers 
contain one which he prefaces with the note : 

" Petition of John Amory 
to Legislature of Massachusetts for permission to return home 
after Revolutionary War. Original draught (apparently), lent 
me Feb. 23, 1855, by Jonathan Amory of Jamaica Plains to 
whom it was lent by General Sumner." 

"To His Excellency the Governor, to the Honourable 
Council and to the Honourable House of Representatives of 
the State of Massachusetts. 

" The humble Petition of John Amory native of Boston in 
said state Showeth 

" That your Petitioner went from Boston to England with 
his wife in May 1775, being a voyage he had long intended ; — 
that he would not have gone from home and left his large 
family often children had' he not assured himself that the un- 
happy troubles which had then begun would have soon sub- 
sided, being persuaded that two Countries whose interests and 
whose wishes were then to remain united would have found 
out some means of accomodation, especially as the Honourable 
Congress were then sitting for that purpose; — that so far from 
wishing at that time to escape any troubles in which his 
Country might be involved in defence of her liberties, that 
no consideration what ever would have tempted him to have 
gone away had he thought a war would have taken place. 

" That with regard to his political sentiments at that time 



240 'The Descenda?its of Hugh Amo7y. 

he can not only appeal to many gentlemen who he hopes are 
now in Boston and with whom he had at that period the 
happiness to be intimately acquainted & who have been 
always considered as zealous in the cause of their country, but 
he also begs leave to annex the copy of a Letter wrote by 
himself, though in the name of the Company of which he 
was one, to their Correspondents in most of the principal 
trading towns in England & Scotland dated in September 1774 
and which agreeable to his intention was inserted in the public 
prints in London & other places and which was well known 
at that time by many gentlemen who he hopes are now in 
Boston to have been written by him ; — that he can hope that 
his sending all his children, as he did when he came away, 
into ConnecSlicut will be considered as a clear proof that he 
did not mean to take a part against his Country. 

" That though he may have been so unhappy as to have 
differed at times from some who were zealous in the cause of 
Liberty in some matters, particularly with regard to the im- 
portation of goods from England into Boston at the time when 
the non-importation agreement had ceased at New York 
which he then considered as a useless Sacrifice of the trade of 
Massachusetts, as also with regard to the propriety of paying 
for the Tea destroyed in Boston, in which he was joined in 
sentiment by many who were then & are still he presumes 
considered as high Patriots yet he can with an honest boldness 
assert that he was always firm on the great question of 
American Liberty, & on every occasion openly avowed his 
sentiments that a submission to that doftrine held up by 
Parliament to bind America in all cases was slavish, & that 
it ought never to be admitted by an American ; — that pos- 



Letter-Books^ 1781-1786. 241 

sessed with these principles he can with truth say that besides 
the settlement of his private affiiirs he was particularly induced 
to go to England at that time in hopes that even in the narrow 
sphere in which he moved he might be of some service to his 
country at a time when questions relating to the interests and 
liberties of America were agitating there; — that in pursuance 
of his design he sent a note to Lord North soon after his 
arrival there, letting him know that a gentleman lately 
arrived from America and who was a friend as well to England 
as America wished for an opportunity to communicate his 
sentiments to him as he flattered himself that he could suggest 
some things which might tend to heal the unhappy breach 
which had taken place. But that this note had no efFeft and 
that your Petitioner never had an opportunity of seeing the 
Minister to whom he wished to represent that he was well 
assured that the Declaratory Aft by which Great Britain 
arrogated to herself a right of taxing America at will would 
never be admitted by America, and that unless it was rescinded 
in the fullest manner, no acomodation could be hoped for ; — 
that soon finding contrary to his hopes & expe6tations that 
the troubles in America were likely to increase he determined 
to return home as soon as possible, but no convenient oppor- 
tunity offering that season he was obliged to stay until the 
next year and that then being in treaty for his passage and on 
the point of coming away his wife was unhappily taken sick & 
languished till the next spring and then died ; — that soon 
afterwards finding many ditliculties & hazards in attempt- 
ing to get home any other way he embarked for New York 
with design to get to his family as soon as possible ; that he 
arrived in New York in the summer of 1777; that im- 

I I 



242 The Descendants of Hugh A/nory. 

mediately on his arrival he was told that it was expeded the 
passengers should go before the Mayor to give in their names, 
that accordingly passing with a friend the next morning by 
the Mayor's office his friend proposed his going in there, 
which he did thinking nor meaning nothing but to give in 
his name, but the Mayor after taking his name tendered him 
an oath of allegiance to the King of Great Britain, & that it 
being unexpeftedly put to him and not knowing what might 
be the consequences of a refusal in a garrison or Town filled with 
armed troops, and also being in surprise & not having sufficient 
time to recoiled: himself he took it ; — that soon after he went 
to Rhode Island in hopes to get permission to go to his family 
but was refused and was able to obtain leave only the next 
winter, and then it was in consequence of his assuring the 
Commanding Officer that as he had taken an oath of allegiance 
to the King of Great Britain he did not mean to take up arms 
against him, but only wished to remain quietly with his 
family : — that he then went to Boston & was examined before 
the Honourable General Assembly then sitting with respe6l to 
his motives for going away, and his condudl while in England, 
to all which he flatters himself he gave satisfadlory answer ; — 
that the question was then put to him whether he would re- 
nounce the oath of allegiance to Great Britain & take an oath 
of allegiance to the States, to which he answered that he was 
ready to give every security that could be required for his 
good behaviour and obedience to every law but that he could 
not then with a quiet mind swear he would bear arms against 
the King of Great Britain ; — that upon this the Honourable 
Court came to the conclusion that he should be sent back to 
Rhode Island and that thus he found himself unhappily 



Letter-Books^ 178 1-1786. 243 

obliged soon to quit once more his native country & his dear 
children. 

" Your Petitioner further begs leave to set forth that he 
has not ever on any occasion whatever had the least inter- 
course with the British Ministry, or ever applied for or 
received the least support from them, that he has not either 
before or since his leaving America intentionally done any 
thing contrary to the interest of his country; but if that from 
the misconception and mistake in any [lylank'l his conduct has 
been such as not to have met with the approbation of his 
countrymen he is heartily sorry and hopes for their forgive- 
ness and your Petitioner humbly prays that he may be 
suffered to return to his native country 6c to his children, he 
not having now any objeftion against taking the oath of 
allegiance to the United States of America to which he 
objedled when before proposed to him, as a principal reason 
which then influenced him, which was his having obtained 
leave to go to Boston upon the condition of his not bearing arms 
against the King of Great Britain, is now removed ; And as 
the oath which he took at New York, though not properly 
compulsive was by no means voluntary. 

" Your Petitioner prays leave to add that while he has 
been observing with concern the liberties of England moulder- 
ing away, and nothing scarcely but the name of a free con- 
stitution left her, he has with the greatest satisfaction seen 
published the free & happy constitution proposed to be 
established in the State of the Massachusetts Bay & which he 
finds with pleasure to be the admiration of Europe ; & that 
he can truly say that besides his wishes to return to his native 
country on account of his family that there is no form of 



244 ^/^^ Descenda?its of Hugh Amory. 

Government upon Earth that he so much desires to Hve 
under, and that if he is so happy as to have the prayer of his 
petition granted he hopes to prove himself no unworthy 
member of it as he shall make it his study to evince by the 
wrhole tenor of his conduft his attachment to it as well as to 
the common interests of the United States of America in 
general and as in duty bound shall ever pray for their 
prosperity." ■'^'^ 

[CLXXXIL] "September 5'^, 1785. Jonathan Amory to 
Benj. Huntington, Esq, Norwich [Connedlicut]. 

" Sir, 

" In compliance with your desire that I should 
produce some evidence against what has been alleged against 
me in order to invalidate our just claim, I now enclose the 
Testimony of resped:able Gentlemen, which you may niake 
such use of as you shall think proper. I could have had any 
number to have signed it but thought a greater number 
unnecessary. 

" As it is alleged that I kept myself out of the way of 
taking paper money I can make it appear that from March 
1775 to July 1776 I took to our great loss upwards of Thirty 
Thousand Pounds in Paper Money, a great proportion of it 
was for debts due in hard money 6c that without any 
allowance. 

" Upon a slight view I find that I received about Four 
thousand Pounds from Gentlemen all in your Neighbourhood, 
wholly for old debts ... [a list of their names follows]. 

" With regard to my political sentiments I can with con- 
fidence appeal to all my Acquaintance that I was a Whig in 



' Letter-Books^ 1781-1786. 245 

principle & that I never was considered as a Tory but on the 
contrary a warm assister of the Liberties of America & always 
denying y^ right of Parliament to tax her. And tho the care 
of property which I could not remove obliged me to remain 
in Town (as many other true friends to their Country did) yet 
it is well known that I never took part with the Enemy by 
joining any of the Associations for defending the Town tho' 
strongly urged to it. 

" With regard to my Brother John Amory I can say that 
he left America in May 1775 with an Intention to return & 
under the full persuasion that the unhappy dispute between 
G. B. & America would have been accomodated, but that 
(altho he had taken Passage) by the Sickness & Death of his 
Wife, & other unavoidable accidents he was prevented return- 
ing till an Order had passed forbidding the Return of 
Absentees ; that during his Residence Abroad, he resided in 
Holland, France & Flanders, that he never applied for or 
received any Pension from the British Government & that 
immediately on the Peace he return'd to America, & has 
now the Special Licence of the Governor & Council to 
reside here. 

" Inclosd you'l find a Circular Letter to all our Cor- 
respondents in England & Scotland w^*^ sufficiently shews our 
Sentiments at that time. It was printed in the English 
Papers & was known to be from us — no less than 12 or 15 of 
them were sent." 

[CLXXXIII.] On the 22nd of Odlober, 1785, the firm 
tell an English correspondent that " The Goods are wanted, 
but the extreme scarcity of money prevents the sale of them." 



246 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

On November 8th they speak of " Mr Marston's protested bill. 
. . . Mr Eliot . . . tells us that Mr Marston has put his 
efFedls into his hands. . . . Mr Marston has been extremely 
unfortunate in an adventure to Virginia, under the care of his 
brother who sold the goods to a House w'^^ failed. This we 
have from Mr Eliot who has the most favourable opinion of 
the Integrity of Mr Marston. . , ." 

[CLXXXIV.] "Nov. 28'h 1785. 

"... During the war our best debts were paid off in 
Paper Money, whilst all that we owed were due in England. 
We have the satisfad:ion however that we have paid them 
off." 

[CLXXXV.] " Oftober 16. 1786. To Dowling & Son. 

"... Mr. Simpson has not been able to pay anything 
neither do we find that Mr Willard has remitted you any- 
thing — w'^'' we are sorry for. Prosecuting the sureties in the 
present time would answer no purpose as the principal surety 
lives in N. H. where Laws have been made (since our taking 
the securities) making Land set off at an appraisement a satis- 
faction of an Execution; & this is in a manner annihilating 
property as in the first place you are generally cheated one 
half if not two thirds in the valuation of the Land, & in the 
next place you can neither sell nor rent them to any profit. 
It is in this manner we suffer ourselves, having ^\ or 5000 
due to us in that State. Mrs Willard the other Surety what 
she has is in Debts, which she cannot raise a penny from, 
neither we distress her, being a very old infirm Lady whose 
friendship we have been honored with many years. Add to 



Letter-Books^ i 781-1786. 247 

this the present Confusion w^"^ no doubt your News-Papers 
will be filled with. Our Courts of Justice are stop'd by Mobs 
& all Government is in a manner at an End. The General 
Court now sitting was called together on this occasion, but 
such a universal discontent prevails on ace' of Taxes which the 
farmer cant pay & such distress among an infinite number of 
Debtors, who from y* Scarcity of money are unable to satisfy 
their creditors, that the Court are unable to find a remedy for 
these evils. — At present it seems that nothing will satisfy the 
body of the people but an exemption from Taxes, & either 
paper-money or Laws making Land & personal Estate of any 
kind a tender for Debt. If this takes place it will be the utter 
ruin of a great number of people who have invested their 
whole property in public securities w*^"^ are of no value if taxes 
cant be raised." 

The Letter-Books end with several letters to Harrisons and 
Ansley, sending bills of exchange as usual. Nothing is said of 
dissolving partnership or retiring from business. The last date 
is November 20th, 1786. 






CHAPTER XV 

Family Letters, 1785- 1805 

AM flatter'd," writes John Coffin ^^^ to his sister 
Elizabeth, March 7th, 1785, "by your desire of 
seeing me in Boston, there are reasons which pre- 
vent that pleasure at present. I owe Money 
there that I cannot at present pay, another reason is my ex- 
pectation of being busily employ 'd in my 'Still-House as soon 
as our River is open to Navigation, besides which I shou'd 
not chuse to expose myself to insult, which I am pretty sure 
wou'd be the consequence of a visit just now, but when I get 
over the material obstacles I shall not let trifles prevent the 
very great pleasure I exped: in the sight of my Boston Friends 
— I have inclos'd you a general Power of AttorX I dont chuse 
to give diredlions for the sale of any part of my real Estate in 
Boston, as I have sent to Eng*^ my Ace' of Losses in Boston in 
consequence of the part I took in the Rebellion, demanding 
compensation agreeable to A61 of Parliament appointing Com- 
missioners to examine the claims of the Loyalists &c, although 
I have not the least expedlation of receiving anything on that 
score for I understand those Persons having demands that dont 



Family Let ters.^ 1785-1805. 249 

make their appearance in London, are totally excluded & those 
who have gone Home on that Business, have not such prospedls 
as wou'd encourage anyone else to take the same Steps, but 
while the compensation is in any degree uncertain it wou'd 
have an ill appearance to give direftions for selling. 

" I shou'd be very well satisfied with your sole judgment 
in the management of my little affairs in Boston but with so 
good and just an adviser as our Cousin John Amory I think it 
not possible anything can be done in them other ways than I 
cou'd wish. ... I am afraid Mr Rufus Amory is mistaken 
when he says the libel against my Stillhouse & Land on which 
it stands was unfinish'd at the time of the Treaty & was 
therefore dismissed without Judgment, as I have been in- 
form'd it has been sold, which I suppose cou'd not have been 
done without Order of Court. I shou'd be glad this matter 
might be further inquir'd into by Mr Rufus Amory, likewise 
two Lotts of Land, one small Lot opposite to where Mr Ben. 
White liv'd when I left Boston the other a large lot to the 
Eastward of the House I liv'd in, bounded Southerly by Essex 
Street, Northerly by blind Lane near Checkly Meeting House, 
formerly call'd. 

" Must refer you to Cousin L. Deblois for the particular 
situation of our Family, We are by no means unhappy tho 
oblidg'd to pay the stridest attention to o^conomy. We are 
in good Health & Spirits & are so happy as to have a very 
agreable round of acquaintance & lastly we have a family of 
Children whose Condudl has hitherto met our approbation. 
If we cou'd have you and a few other Boston friends here we 
cou'd not wish to change our situation. Offer my kindest 
love to all your young Family, with affectionate regard to 

K K 



250 The Descendants of Hugh Aniory. 

every branch of the Amory for whom I have the highest 
esteem. I sincerely pity you all on Acdt of the situation of 
my worthy Cousin Mrs Paine — believe me my dear Sister 
your Truely Affeftionate Friend 

"Jn° Coffin. 

" I feel much for Mrs SheafFe's misfortunes, I very much 
wish my Friends to be attentive to her. 

"J. C." 

Mrs. Amory was administering not only her husband's 
property, but also in his place the estate of her mother. In 
sending some accounts of this to Quebec, she writes, ^^^ No- 
vember 2ist, 1786: "Dear Brother, I am now Endeavs to 
bring everything to a Close relative to the Estate. . . . 
Acknowledge, my Brother, your Approbation of my pro- 
ceeding in Gragg's Affair by taking his Note in my Own 
Name which Note . . . shall remain in my hands as Col- 
lateral Security for your debt to the Estate. . . . Have this 
moment heard of this Oppy. Dinner is now waiting, the 
Turkey is growing cold & Mrs Coffin & Mrs Emmerson 
very Hungry, they desire to be remember'd to you & dear 
Sister & to Tho' & to Isaac & dear Nath' if Arriv'd from 
England. Do ask dear Natt Coffin to answer that part of 
his Letter relative to those Notes put into his Hands for to 
pay John Amory 's debt &c. Urge his settlement of Father's 
and Mother's Estate." Her brother thanks her,^^*^ February, 
1787, "for the deal of trouble you & Mr Rufus Amory had 
with the papers, which I rec'd in good order, & have ex- 
pectation of their being of use to me with y* Commissioners 
who are expefted here next Summer to examine into the 




-'//.". ^/icrna.i. '-ymiU't^J (jltzu/ict/i ( ef/ifi J 
J J/, I -IS 2 2 



Family Letters^ 1 785-1 805. 251 

claims of Loyalists." His claims were acknowledged, and he 
received promises (never fulfilled) of money and land. Lord 
Dorchester when Governor-General of Canada made him 
Surveyor-General of Woods. " Your Brother & Family are 
well," a Bostonian visiting Quebec ^-'^ in 1788 writes to Mrs. 
Amory, "and I hope and believe are happy. He is much 
respedled and esteemed in this Country and has a great share 
of the attention of Lord Dorchester." 

Another of the Coffins, in Canada just then on leave, was 
Isaac, one of the cashier's sons, a captain in the navy. Possibly 
he had something to do with his young cousin Billy Amory 's 
developing a taste for the sea. Billy, one of Mrs. Thomas 
Amory 's fatherless boys, had now reached the age of thirteen. 
Mr. T. C. Amory seems to have heard a tradition that he with- 
out his mother's knowledge offered himself to the commander 
of a British cruiser and was taken to England to be made a 
midshipman. He could not have had that privilege without 
influence to obtain it for him. All I can vouch for is that 
he was in Boston ^^^ in the autumn of 1790 when he was 
sixteen, and again in December, 1792, when his expenses 
include the hire several times of a saddle-horse ; that in 
March, 1793, his guardians buy a sea-bed and pillow for him, 
and pay " twenty-five heavy guineas sterling," reckoned at 
£^1^ i6s. 8J., to Benjamin Joy tor "a passage to England on 
the ship John from Boston to London," giving thirty heavy 
guineas to Captain Codman with diredlions to deliver the 
same to Captain Isaac Coffin for William's support. The 
French Convention had just then declared war on England, 
and Captain Coffin, in command of the " Melampus," thirty- 
six guns, was in active service in the Channel. William 



252 " T'he Desce?idants of Hugh Amory. 

Amory draws his income that year and the next in London 
(through his uncle John's son Thomas Amory, a merchant 
often in England); visits Boston in 1795, and is there again 
in May, 1797. At this time the Revolutionary Government 
of France, unable to drag the United States into war against 
England, ordered the American Minister out of its territory, 
and began capturing American merchantmen at sea. William 
Amory's brother Jonathan writing ^-''^ at Boston, August loth, 
1797, says: "Accounts were received in town yesterday by a 
Letter from Mr Avery in Paris to his father here, that our 
Secretary Mr Pickering's answer to Mons. Adet had been 
there received, and much circulated — that it was taken up by 
the Council of 500, read with much applause, and caused 
them to demand of the Direftory a statement of their pro- 
ceedings against this Country — It may be a means of awakening 
them to a sense of their mal-conduft and prevent our suffering 
from their spoliations — by their atrocities — Report says ! Mr 
Pinckney has received from the Directory an invitation to 
return from Holland ; an Exchange of Ministers has taken 
place both in England and France & that from England three 
Envoys Extraordinary are appointed to treat for peace — thus 
you see glimmerings of what we have long anxiously waited 
for — an expefted quiet in Europe." 

Almost as Jonathan wrote, a letter was being written to 
him by his cousin, a son of Gilbert Deblois,^^* giving the 
gossip of the moment among American merchants in France. 

" Bordeaux, Aug' 11''' 1797. 

" My Dear Friend 

" My last respeds was of y*^ 2'* Curr' p'' Brig' Sally, 



Fatnily Letters^ 1 785-1 805. 253 

Cap'. Harlow. I then wrote you I was Waiting a Passport 
for Paris ; am sorry to say as yet am Unable to Procure One ; 
tho' my friends have made great Interest; Mr R'': Codman, 
Mr Adet, Mr Dallarde, & Skipwith the Consull General, 
have been & are still Endeavouring to Answer my Wishes; 
Mr Codman from whom I have rec'* 2 Letters, has behaved 
Extreemly kind ; I hope by this Days Post from Paris, to re- 
ceive agreable Intelligence. On the 9"- Inst, the Department 
of Bordeaux rec'd Orders from Mons^ Tallerand, the New 
Appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, that 2 Envoys from 
America was Daily Expedled in France; & should they 
Arrive at this Place, to shew them Every mark of respedt ; 
& furnish them with Every thing Necessary to Proceed on 
to Paris. — this looks Favourable; The present Minister is 
thought a Worthy Man; was in Boston in 1794, & a freind 
to America — quite the reverse of Delacroix; the freinds to 
America are Extreme Anxious for the Arrival of the Commis- 
sioners ; as their Privateers & Men of Warr, are Daily Cap- 
turing American Vessells, & their Presence would put a Stop 
to the Bussiness. Yesterday was Celebrated in this City, the 
Massacre of the Swiss Guards ; in my Oppinion a Day that 
Ought to have been Forgotten. — Inclosed you have 2 price 
Currents, after Perusing them please Cause them to be De- 
liverd to the persons Direded, w'^ my best Wishes ; tell my 
"Valued Freind Tom ; I should have wrote him by this Oppy 
had I had any Pleasing Subjeft to write On, that tho' 3000 
mile Distant ; that he ; as well as yourself, are constantly in 
my mind. The Bearer Cap' Tilden a Modest, Intelligent 
Man, Can give you Every Information of me ; & the Prospeft 
of Affairs in this Country.— Tell Stephen I am Extreemly 



254 Th^ Descendaftts of Hugh Amory. 

sorry he Negledled to give me the Letter to Mr Parker as he 
would [have] been of service to me in my Settlement with 
Vans ; he is at Paris? — Codman & Parker, are both immensely 
rich ; & supposed worthy Charafters. — the Inclosed Letter to 
Mrs D. you'l Please forward to her, & Charge the Postage. — 
I must beg of you, that should she not be Happy in her Pre- 
sent Lodgings to Insist On her removing; as from a Circum- 
stance that took place just at the moment of my Departure, 
I have had my Doubts, wether She would be Agreably 
Situated. — Make my Warmest Wishes Acceptable to One & 
all, your Familly. 

" I remain with much Esteem, 
" Yours Sincerely, 

" W. Deblois. 

"(i o'clock) the Post is arrived from Paris; no Letters — 
I have a prospedl of obtaining a Passport, from the Municipality 
here ; through the means of a Respedlable French House, who 
have Enter'd into Bonds for my being an American ; 6c that 
I would not be Ingaged in any Riot at Paris ; Against the Re- 

publick. — but it is not yet Settl"^ — Mr our Consul here, is 

Just Arrived from a Visit to Paris; a man largely Concern'd 
in Privateering ; &c of Course a ric/i man ; his Charafture 
— Mum. bad Enough but not the worst of our Consulls in this 
Country .? he tells my freind Gray that Dan' Parker has 
Lessend his fortune _^iooooo Stg in his Late Speculations; 
in a Species of Paper ; Called Inscriptions ; by which many 
of our Countrymen, have been Barreled, alias Georgia Land — 
but he is still known to be really worth ^250000 Stg. When 
I get to Paris I will write you on Politicks, In Confidence 



Family Letters^ 1785-1805. 255 

that my name will be Sacred. I shall then shew you the real 
Charadlures of some Americans here. — I find People are much 
Divided respecting M"" Tallerand, the Minister of Foreign 
Affairs ; some say he is for, others say he is against America ; 
but his Orders respeding our Commissioners is a fact, & 
you can Draw your own Conclusion. 

" W. D. 

" P.S. Aug* I I'h g P.M. With great Pleasure I inform 
you, through the means of M'^ Tilden ; the Bearer ; & a French 
House in this City ; whose names I Cannot write, but Inclose 
you their Card ? I have now my Passport in my Pocket ; & 
shall Leave this Place the 14*'' Inst being xhejirst Dilligence 
that goes to Paris — & think myself very fortunate. — Adieu. — 

"[Directed:] Mr Jon^ Amory, tertius 

" Merchant 
" Boston. 
" Fav.'' by 

" Cap- Tilden— " 

When the Commissioners arrived the French Government, 
refusing to treat with them openly, made a private offer to let 
the merchantmen alone if the United States would bribe 
heavily certain members of the Diredlory. This insult being 
answered in America by a storm of anger and the prompt 
creation of a navy, William Amory transferred his allegiance ^-'^ 
from England to the United States, obtained a commission as 
lieutenant of marines, and was more or less in adlive service 
during the two or three years of irregular warfare which 



256 The Descenda7its of Hugh Amory. 

followed before the fall of the Diredory and the First Consul's 
Treaty of Peace with President Adams. He served afterwards 
with the fleet which put an end to that immemorial terror for 
American commerce, the Tripoli pirate. In 1807 he returned 
with the " Constitution " to Boston, too much out of health 
to sail again, and died November i6th, 1808, aged thirty- 
four. 

Commodore Silas Talbot writes ■^^^ to Mr. Secretary Stod- 
dard, May I 2th, 1800: 

"... I have now to acquaint you. Sir, that I have been 
for some time meditating an enterprise against a French armed 
ship lying at Port Plate protedled by her own guns and a fort 
of three heavy cannon. It was my first intention to have gone 
in with the Constitution and to have silenced the fort and ship 
which has all her guns on one side to cooperate with the fort 
in defending against any hostile force but after the best in- 
formation I could gain I found it to be somewhat dangerous 
to approach the entrance of the harbor with a ship of the 
draft of water of the Constitution. 

" Having detained the sloop Sally which had left Port 
Plate a few days before, and was to have returned there pre- 
vious to her return to the United States, I conceived that this 
sloop would be a suitable vessel for a disguise. I therefore 
manned her at sea from the Constitution with about ninety 
brave seamen and marines, the latter to be commanded by 
Captain Cormick. and Lieutenant Amory, when on shore ; 
but the entire command I gave to Mr Isaac Hull my first 
lieutenant, who entered the harbor of Port Plate yesterday in 
open day with his men in the hold of the sloop except five or 



Family Letters^ 1785-1805. 257 

six to work her in. They ran alongside the ship and boarded 
her, sword in hand, without the loss of a man, killed or 
wounded. At the moment the ship was boarded, agreeably 
to my plan. Captain Cormick and Lieutenant Amory landed 
with the marines, up to their necks in water, and spiked all 
the cannon in the fort before the commanding officer had 
time to recollect and prepare himself for defence. ^ . . I feel 
myself under great obligations to Lieutenant Hull, Captain 
Cormick and Lieutenant Amory for their avidity in under- 
taking the scheme I had planned, and for the handsome 
manner and great address with which they performed this 
daring adventure. 

" The ship, I understand, mounts four sixes and two nines; 
she was formerly the British packet Sandwich^ and from the 
boasting publications at the Cape and the declaration of the 
officers, she is one of the fastest sailors that swims. She ran 
three or four years (if I forget not) as a privateer out of 
France, . . . She is a beautiful copper-bottomed ship. Her 
cargo consists principally of sugar and coffise. . . . The cap- 
ture was made about twelve o'clock. When taken the ship 
was stripped, having only her lower masts in ; her rigging 
was coiled & stowed below. Before sunset Lieut. Hull had 
her completely rigged, royal yards athwart, guns scaled, men 
quartered, and in every respeft ready for service. 

"... I am etc 

" Silas Talbot." 

The naval connedion of the family was extended by the 
marriage of William's youngest brother, Nathaniel Amory, 
with a niece of Commodore Preble, U.S.N., and of his eldest 

L L 



258 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

brother, the first Thomas Coffin Amory, with a daughter of 
Captain John Linzee, R.N., uncle to the wife of Admiral Sir 
Samuel (created Viscount) Hood, Captain Linzee's son and 
nephew were also English admirals. Lord Hood, who in 
1772, when in command of the North Atlantic Squadron, 
had been present at Captain Linzee's wedding with Susanna 
Inman (daughter of a Loyalist but niece to John Rowe) was 
present in the same room in 1795 at Hannah Rowe Linzee's 
wedding with Mr, Amory, Loyalty did not involve any 
prejudice against Boston, " Sink or Swim," writes Sir Isaac 
Coffin ^^'' in 1827, "I never can forget the Place of my 
Nativity, or cease to wish Prosperity to it." Sir Isaac had 
property in America in the care of his cousin Jonathan Amory 
tertius, at whose house, 7, Park Street, he made long visits. 
" I had fully intended at least to pass a week with you," he 
writes ^^* in 18 17, when for some reason returning to England 
at short notice — " to disclose to you the secret of the accumu- 
lation in the American Funds ... it is for a Charitable In- 
stitution, so as you are known to be one of the best of Men : 
help me as well as you can." This charitable institution, the 
floating nautical school — now altered — at Nantucket, so de- 
lighted its founder that he once took the schooner,^^® manned 
wholly by lads of his own name, on show to Quebec, flying 
the Stars and Stripes. It was an amusing freak for an old 
friend of the Duke of Clarence (then lately become William 
IV.), for an English rear-admiral and an M.P., but it had re- 
sults. Not long after. Sir Isaac Coffin's name was down in the 
king's private list of new peers to be created in order to pass 
the Reform Bill of 1832. Ministers (the Duke of Wellington 
was Premier) heard from Quebec the story of the schooner 



•'maJ i 



258 

ifh a daughter of 
of Admiral Sir 
■ nzee's son anci 
Hood, who in 
;ntic Squadrc/.', 
: with Suf 
•hn Rowe) \. 
Rowe Linze< 
■ , involve ar 
:es Sir Isa 
^ the Fiace of 

'Sir Isaac 
I Jonathan An 

ade long ^ 

, with you, 

:ing to Entj 

at s of the accurri 

i ■ Charitable 

le best of Mc' 
' ■ institutioiK 



Quebec, 
' •eak fo! 
•ecome Wi 
., but it h, 

was dov 
in ordi 



the Stn 


frie; 


fcuks. J 


king's pnv 




. J'trtii a . /run/t/uf ru .Jut-fH .Jiu:irt 



J 



Fafnily Letters^ 1785-1805. 259 

and its flag ; the freak and the peerage seemed to them incom- 
patible, and an erasure was made in the king's list. " How 
much did it cost you to found your Nantucket School, Sir 
Isaac ? " an innocent person asked ; and the admiral answered 
fiercely : " It cost me an earldom, sir ! " 

The elder Jonathan Amory died in 1797, his brother 
John in 1803. After fully meeting their obligations^'**' to 
English creditors, they had retired from business within a few 
years after John's return, and had made investments in land in 
the country as well as in Boston. One of them owned — and 
John's descendants long retained — Concert Hall,^"^ a name 
always coming up in the local gossip, social and political, for 
a hundred years after 1754, when Gilbert and Lewis Deblois 
sold the property to Stephen Deblois. Jonathan moved in 
1784 to a house which he built -''^ on what is now the 
opening of Temple Place into Washington Street. His 
garden is said to have extended " two or three hundred feet 
in either direftion," joining his brother's. John's was the 
next house (it had been Rufus Greene's) in Newbury Street, 
standing at the corner of West Street, up which its ground 
ran almost to Tremont. (See Note.) 

John's second son, Rufus Greene Amory, successful as a 
Boston lawyer, married a daughter of Frederick William 
Geyer, the banished Loyalist. Geyer returning in 1789, and 
being admitted a citizen by Ad of Legislature, recovered also 
his home in Summer Street, the large house opposite Trinity 
Church, built in 1730 by Leonard Vassall. The wedding of 
Rufus Amory and Nancy Geyer, February 13th, 1794, is 
described as " a very gay and brilliant affair." It gained an 



26o The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

unexpefted distinftion in consequence of a heavy snowstorm 
by which Prince Edward (afterwards Duke of Kent and 
father of the Queen), travelling from Canada to take com- 
mand of the troops at Halifax, was just then detained at 
Boston. He accepted Mr. Geyer's invitation to the wedding, 
and came, with his aides. " His Royal Highness," it is 
recorded,^"^ " was complaisant and affable in his deportment, 
and claimed the customary privilege of kissing the bride and 
bridesmaids." His host's son, it would seem, was (or had 
been the year before) among the ardent sympathizers with 
revolutionary France, who disapproved of titles, and put their 
marriage-notices in this form : '■^'^^ (" Boston Gazette," January 
2ist, 1793) "By Citizen Thatcher, Citizen Frederick W. 
Geyer, Jr., to Citess Rebecca, daughter to Citizen Nathan 
Frazer." As far as I can learn, the Amorys, in their first 
generation as American citizens, had no such fads, but were 
sober Federalists, not obliged, because they were grateful to 
Lafayette, to adopt the principles of '89, or to be persuaded 
a few years later that Napoleon was enslaving Europe only to 
strengthen American freedom. Of the Emperor's care for 
individual liberty Nathaniel Amory had personal experience, 
for arriving in Lombardy, after the order was issued for the 
arrest of all Englishmen in the French dominions, he was 
imprisoned,-''^ in spite of his protest that he was an American, 
and presently sent under guard to Paris. Here, it is said, he 
had the melancholy honour of inhabiting that room in the 
Temple which had been the prison of Marie Antoinette. 
No inquiry was made into his case, nor was he allowed to 
communicate with anyone outside the limits of the prison. 
But it happened that a laundress employed for him was also 



Family Letters y 1785-1805. 261 

laundress to the American Minister. Whether it was the 
prisoner's clean linen which came to the Minister, or the 
Minister's to the prisoner (for traditions conflict), at any rate 
Washington Irving was made aware that a Mr. Amory was in 
Paris and that he was lodged in the Temple. Prompt inquiry 
and representation of the case to the French Government 
effected his release, but not without his promising Mr. Irving 
that he would never again be found within the borders of the 
Empire. Though more than once in England during the next 
ten years he was careful to keep away from the Continent until 
after Waterloo. 

It was probably just before this adventure that he chose in 
Italy a gift for his brother Jonathan's wife, an alabaster orna- 
ment for the dinner-table. He writes ^"*^ to Jonathan, May 
7th, 1805, that he has been in quarantine at Palermo but is 
now at Leghorn, where " after looking over all the fine things 
in the famous shop of Micauli of which you have no doubt 
heard I gave the preference to a plateau which in point of 
size I think just calculated for your largest table. It is in 
three pieces and may be reduced to Two for a smaller one, 
the figures are as follows. The Centre Groupe Washington 
crowned by Vicflory & attended by the Genius of Commerce, 
on each side of this Groupe is a pyramid, at one end is a Cleo- 
patra accompanied by Augustus & Marc Antony, at the other 
Lucretia accompanied by Collatinus 6c Brutus — in the front & 
rear of Washington two pieces of Artillery. The Arms, 
Trophies &c are to be placed around the other figures. — I 
hope Mrs Amory will be pleased with it as the design is novel 
& the workmanship exquisite." The value which he gives for 
the entry at the Custom House is 230 crowns. 



262 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Nathaniel and his brothers — Thomas Coffin Amory, Jona- 
than, and John — were all merchants, as were their cousins 
John and Thomas — sons of John — and also, I imagine, the 
younger sons Jonathan, William, and Francis. John's ten 
children all married, and all, except two daughters, have de- 
scendants. The whole number of their great-grandchildren 
living in 1896 was sixty-eight, of whom about forty are Bos- 
tonians, the rest living at Providence, New York, Philadelphia, 
Washington, etc. One branch, not Amorys, are citizens of 
France. Of the great-grandsons of John's six sons, only two 
bear the Amory name. These are brothers living in the 
United States, but not in New England. 

Thomas and Elizabeth (Coffin) Amory have now living 
one hundred and twenty-two great-great-grandchildren, of 
whom not more than twenty-five are permanently settled away 
from Boston. Four of the whole number are British subjects, 
the rest Americans. Eighteen of the great-great-grandsons 
have the surname Amory, and of these, thirteen are Bostonians 
the other five living at Chicago or elsewhere in the States. 
Five of the eighteen descend from the first Thomas Coffin 
Amory, thirteen from his brother Jonathan. 






CHAPTER XVI. 

Of Heraldry. 

N 1 788 one or two of the London periodicals printed 
letters about the author of "John Buncle," who 
had died, according to one correspondent, eighteen 
years before. His son. Dr. Amory of Wakefield, 
noticed these " erroneous accounts," and wrote to " The Gentle- 
man's Magazine " : 

" My Father (John Buncle) Thomas Amory Esq-'S is yet 
living and is now 97 years old, and when young was a very 
handsome man. . . . He never had but one wife and I am the 
only surviving child. ... He has published many political 
and religious Trads, Poems and songs. I cannot comprehend 
any sense in your calling him an Unitarian to a romantic 
degree. . . , He will not see any company nor ever comes out 
of his room. ... He was not a native of Ireland. His Father, 
Counsellor Amory, . . . was appointed Secretary for the for- 
feited Estates in that Kingdom, and was possessed of very 
extensive property in the County of Clare. He was the 
youngest brother of Amory or Damer, the Miser, whom Pope 
calls the Wealthy and the Wise, from whom comes Lord 
Milton. . . . My Grandfather married the daughter of Fitz- 



264 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Maurice, Earl of Kerry , . . We are lineally descended from 
Amory de Montfort who married the sister of Henry the 
Second and was created Earl of Leicester." 

Dr. Amory's statements^ — some of which were stricSly 
accurate — met with fierce contradidion in the next number of 
"The Gentleman's Magazine," from a writer signing " Louis 
Renas." The inaccuracies seem hardly worth so much ve- 
hemence, but it must be granted to " Louis Renas " that 
Henry IL had no sister Countess of Leicester : it was his 
granddaughter Eleanor, sister of Henry IIL, who was married 
to de Montfort ; de Montfort's Christian name was Simon ; he 
was not exactly created Earl of Leicester, but by arrangement 
with his elder brother was allowed to claim that earldom, 
which their father had inherited through his mother but had 
never possessed. As regards the name Amory, Sirhon is rather 
remarkable for not having had it. It was his elder brother's 
Christian name ; seven out of nine generations of their line 
had been so named. The second of the seven had inherited 
from his mother a castle in Normandy called by the incon- 
veniently common title of Montfort; he made it Montfort 
I'Amaiiri for distinction, and his family became de Montfort 
de Montfort I'Amauri, as other families were de Montfort de 
Beldesert, and so on. The Earl of Leicester, founding a new 
house in England, seems to have dropped I'Amauri from his 
surname, although he gave the Christian name Amaury to one 
of his younger sons. This Amaury was a priest, who, after 
his father's downfall, went to Italy, there turned soldier, and 
died. Camden, writing of surnames (" Remaines concerning 
Britaine," 1657), says: "The most common alteration pro- 
ceeded from the place of habitation. . . . So the yongest son 



Of Heraldry, 265 

of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, staying in England 
when his father was slaine and brethren fled, took the name of 
Welsborne, as some of that name have reported." Mr. Prothero 
("Life of Simon de Montfort," 1877, p. 364) ignores any 
such tradition, observing that Simon's family was extindl in 
the second generation — his daughter's only child was made a 
nun, the eldest of his five sons fell at Evesham, and at least 
three others died abroad, " What became of Richard we do 
not know : according to Ann. Dunst. he died in France." 
That the Amorys descended from any of the five is stigmatized 
by " Louis Renas " as " an idle tale, void of foundation or 
probability." Dr. Amory replies : " The account signed by 
me was taken from my grandfather's papers, Thomas Amory 
Esq of Bunratty Castle, confirmed by my father." When this 
second letter was written, the author of "John Buncle" had 
lately died, November 25th, 1788. (" Gentleman's Magazine," 
vol. 59.) 

If either Thomas of Rathlahine or his father said that 
Bunratty was brother to Joseph Damer, it cannot much matter 
what they said of the Earl of Leicester. For they must have 
known that Bunratty — as we know from his own Chancery 
suits, from his father's will, from his sister Julia's letters — was 
Thomas Amory of Galy's eldest and only son. We know also 
that for three generations, pradlically the whole of the seven- 
teenth century, Bunratty 's family had been writing their name 
Amory, while Joseph Damer's family through the same period 
had been writing theirs Damer. In Hutchins (" History of 
Dorsetshire ") the Darners are set forth, father and son, from 
1602, on evidence apparently as clear as ours for the Amorys 
from 1605, and the two lines cannot be fused. (See also 

M M 



266 The Descenda?its of Hugh Arnory. 

" Somersetshire Wills," Second Series, under the names Tre- 
villian and Bush.) We must, therefore, rejedt both propositions 
of the Wakefield letter, despite its author's unquestionable 
sincerity. There is no ground for the idea that Simon de 
Montfort was Hugh Amory's ancestor : such evidence as exists 
in the history of Simon and his sons is against it. There is no 
ground for the idea that Hugh's descendants and Lord Milton 
had a common ancestor before 1602 ; there is full proof that 
they had not after that date. 

Mr. T. C. Amory, at a time when genealogical study was 
much more uncommon than it is now and much more difficult, 
especially at his distance from the records, was misled by 
Dr. Amory's letter, so far as to suppose that we must be in 
some way related to Joseph Darner, although obviously not 
through his being Bunratty's brother. Like other people, 
Mr. Amory took for history the elaborate pedigree of Lord 
Milton, from the date of the Conquest, published in eight- 
eenth-century Peerages ; and was always seeking fafts to ac- 
count for what it and the Wakefield letter said, rather than 
for fadts to show whether what they said was not fiftion. 
Believing in the Damer relationship, he supposed that what- 
ever was true of Lord Milton's ancestry was true of ours, and 
believing Lord Milton's pedigree, he was convinced that we 
descend from the barons D'Amory of the fourteenth century. 
The question of whether they descended from Simon de 
Montfort was separate, and on this he had different theories 
at different times. But with regard to our descent from them 
he had so little doubt that he allowed the sentence to appear 
at the end of an account in Burke of Lord Milton and the 
barons : " One branch of this ancient house . . . has mi- 



Of Heraldry. 267 

grated to the United States where the name and family of 
Amory are well known and esteemed." He also allowed in 
the same author's " General Armory " that this family should 
be credited with the coat of arms which Lord Milton took, 
viz. : " Barry nebulee of six argent and gules, a bend azure. 
Crest : out of a mural crown or, a talbot's head azure, eared of 
the first. Motto: Tu ne cede malis." — "I always stand up 
for Sir Bernard Burke," one of the Pursuivants said to me at 
the College of Arms in 1898; "he ought not to be blamed 
for inaccuracy : being in Ireland he had absolutely no means 
of verifying anything. We owe him a lot of information as 
to what each family in his time believed or wished to believe 
about itself — that is a great deal ! But of course he is no 
authority beyond that." 

The Damer relationship, if it had existed, would have 
been uncertain ground on which to claim a D'Amory ancestry 
or coat of arms. The pedigree and arms adopted by Joseph 
Damer's great-nephew about 1762, when, having been for 
some time Baron Milton of Shronehill, Tipperary, he obtained 
an English peerage as Baron Milton of Milton Abbas, Dorset- 
shire, may be seen in the " Historical Peerages " of Collins 
and Lodge, in Hutchins (" History of Dorset ") and in other 
writers guided by these. Lord Milton was afterwards created 
Earl of Dorchester — peerage extinft 1808, line extindl 1829 — 
but as the Wakefield letter speaks of him by the earlier title 
it is more convenient to do so here. (The Lord Dorchester 
mentioned in some of our Coffin family papers is, of course. 
Sir Guy Carleton, Governor of Canada, created Baron Dor- 
chester in 1786.) His D'Amory pedigree derives Lord Milton 
from a familv settled in Devonshire before the end of the six- 



268 The Descendants of Hugh A^noiy. 

teenth century : his D'Amory arms are those of a family 
settled equally early in Gloucestershire. Both these families 
— the Gloucester one in 1592, the Devonshire one in 1620 — 
had had their right to bear arms recognized by the heralds. 
The arms were in both cases barry nebulee of six, argent and 
gules, over all, a bend — but in Devonshire it was a bend sable, 
in Gloucestershire a bend azure. A farther distinction was 
that the Devonshire group added no crest or motto. (The 
absence of these marks an ancient bearing, since mottoes came 
into fashion in the sixteenth century and crests began in the 
thirteenth.) Giles D'Amorie of the Gloucestershire group 
obtained in 1592 a grant from the Heralds' College of a crest ; 
out of a mural coronet or a talbot's head azure, eared of the 
first ; with the motto, Tu ne cede malts. Lord Milton assumed 
this crest and motto as well as the bend azure, not explaining 
how a descendant of the Devonshire family could inherit a 
right to them. The pedigrees recorded by the heralds in 
1592 and 1620 prove that these two families, if they had a 
common ancestor at all, had been separate for at least three 
generations before Giles. 

The particulars given in regard to Lord Milton's descent 
are that his great-grandtather, John Darner of Godmanston in 
Dorsetshire, born in 1602 (the father of Joseph Damer of 
Dublin) was great-grandson of the Reverend Anthony Damory, 
Reftor of Asholt in Somersetshire, who was grandson of John 
Damerey of South Molton, the first recorded ancestor of the 
Devonshire family. Whom Anthony married is not said, but 
he is given a son "Joseph [Hutchins makes it John] Damory 
of Chapel, Co. Devon," who marries Jane St. Loe and has a 
son, " Robert Damory of Chapel," born in 1571, who marries 



Of Heraldry. 269 

Mary Colmer, and is the father of John of Godmanston. In 
the Bishop's Nymet register, " Richard son of Anthony 
Amory " dies in 1571. Of course one cannot say that this was 
his only son. His nephew John Amory, furnishing the 
heralds in 1620 with the pedigree which they recorded, does 
not mention his marriage, but marks him simply as " Anthony, 
3'^'' son, a priest," mentioning that the other uncle, William, 
married a daughter of Leigh of Ridge. The will of William's 
and Anthony's father, George Amorie or Amerie of Bishop's 
Nymet in the County of Devon, yeoman, is at Somerset 
House, written and proved in 1598. It makes bequests to 
"my son John Amerie," executor and residuary legatee, to 
two other sons, Anthonie and William, and to two married 
daughters, naming several children of John, of William, and 
of each daughter, but no child of Anthonie. It is to be 
remarked that in no record is he Anthony Damory. In a list 
of Somerset incumbents, compiled about 1730 from the 
Bishop's registers, " Anton Amerie " is instituted Odlober 2nd, 
1577, into the redtory of Aisholt or Asholt, resigned by the 
former incumbent, and keeps it until his death in 1620. The 
parish registers of Asholt before 1645 are lost, but a copy of 
one year (1606) remains among the reports to the Bishop which 
are kept at Wells. It is in particularly neat writing and is 
signed, in the same hand, " Anthonie Amorie psonn [parson]." 
Collinson (" History of Somersetshire," vol. i., p. 238) says 
that there is in the floor of the chancel in Asholt Church a 
stone inscribed : "Anthony Amory, decessid July 20, 1620, 
parson here 42 yeeres ; who gave to the poor ,^30 for ever, 
whereof 15/. to Aysholt, & 15/. to Bishop's Nymet in Devon- 
shire where he was borne." In i 895 no such stone was in the 



270 The Desce7idants of Hugh Amory. 

church, but outside, leaning against the north wall of the 
tower, was a large fragment of a thick gray slab. It showed 
half, diagonally, of the above inscription, although the part 
bearing the parson's name was gone. At Somerset House the 
will of "John Amorie of Bishop's Wivn^it, generosus,'' proved 
in 16 1 5, names "my brother Mr William Amory," and "my 
brother Mr Anthony Amorie, parson of Asholt." The pedigree 
of 1620 as printed by the Harleian Society (Vol. VI., Visita- 
tion of Devonshire) gives five generations of this family, vary- 
ing the name as follows: "John Damerey of South Molton ; 
George D'Amerey ; John D'Amerie of Chappall in Bishop's 
Nimet ; John Amerey of Chappell ; John Amory son and heir, 
cBt 5 in 1620." For younger sons in each generation the sur- 
name is not repeated. Such pedigrees are in the herald's 
handwriting, but generally signed by the head of the family. 
In this case the fourth generation signs, writing "John 
Amory," as the herald had written it for his child. 

It is not explained how Anthony's son and grandson, if 
they existed, could be " of Chapel, Co. Devon." We have 
just seen that the pedigree first gives that title to Anthony's 
eldest brother, John, who married (according to Mr. Somerby's 
copy of the Bishop's Nimet register) in 1587 and died in 1615, 
his son succeeding him as "John Amerey of Chappell." This 
latter John had two sons, John (born in 1615) and William. 
John dying childless left Chapel to William, who had no sons 
and whose two daughters divided the property after his death 
in 1666. By that time Joseph Damer, having had too much 
of the Protedior's favour to expert the King's, had sold all his 
English property and withdrawn to Dublin ; his grandfather 
and great-grandfather had doubtless died. Westcote (" History 



Of Heraldry . 271 

of Devonshire"), writing about 1630, mentions the manor of 
Chapel or White Chapel in Bishop's Nymet as "now divided 
among divers. In the farmhouse is the remainder of the tribe 
of Amory seated." To which his editor adds, " Extindl about 
the year 1670." 

4. Again, Robert Damory, born in i 57 1 , if he was a grand- 
son of Anthony, was sixteen years of age before the marriage 
of his grandfather's elder brother, John. And at thirty years 
to a generation, the ordinary rule, his grandfather must have 
died at one hundred and nine, an age which the epitaph at 
Asholt might have been expedted to remark. I must not conceal 
the fa<5l that there is a difficulty the other way about Anthony's 
dates. If Mr. Somerby's report of the register be correal, 
George Amorye married Margery Ayer (the pedigree of 1620 
calls her " daughter of Eyre of Atherington ") in i 570. Their 
elder son John can hardly then have married in 1587, but, 
setting that aside, the younger one, Anthony, would be under 
five years old when instituted as redtor of Asholt. This is 
odd, but does not make it more likely that he had a grandson 
born in I 57 1. 

" In regard to Joseph Damer," writes Mr. Somerby, " I 
do not believe him to have descended from the D'Amory or 
Amory family at all. My impression is that desiring to link 
on to an ancient family they did so without any authority. 
The name in the parish registers and wills at least as far back 
as Queen Elizabeth is always spelt without the prefix D', show- 
ing that it was dropped before that time. The name D'Amory 
never was Damer and the name Amory, written so for several 
succesive generations, would not be likely to go back to 
D'Amory, much less to Damer." Horace Walpole, in a gossip- 



272 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

ping letter to a friend, Oftober 22nd, 1766, says : " You know 
my lord Milton, from nephew of the old usurer Damer of 
Dublin, has endeavoured to ere6t himself into the representa- 
tive of the ancient barons Damory," 

To play at being armiger, in flat defiance of the rules of 
the game, is of course an old offence. As early as 141 9 un- 
authorized bearings had made such confusion throughout 
England that " it was deemed necessary to issue a royal man- 
date to the sheriff of every county to summon all persons 
bearing arms to prove their right to them. Many of the 
claims then made were referred to the heralds as com- 
missioners" (Lower's "Curiosities of Heraldry," 1845, P^g^ 
42). "Visitations," says another writer, "continued to be 
made during the reigns of Elizabeth, James I. and Charles I., 
and during part of the last reign the college of arms was in 
high repute and great respedt paid to its mandates. . . . During 
the Protectorate . . . [it] seems to have been a nullity, yet 
even then the emblems of honourable antiquity were not dis- 
regarded. ... At the Restoration the heralds were reinstated 
in all their powers and privileges. . . . Visitations were still 
made; the last of which took place in 1683, it being then 
found to be most useless to issue commands without authority 
to enforce them. . . . The dictation which had been sub- 
mitted to in ruder and more warlike ages was now neither 

necessary nor possible Arms . . . were soon . . . 

assumed ad libitum ... as the penal statutes which had 
hitherto guarded the heralds' office continued inoperative . . . 
numbers were to be found who defying ridicule . . . arrogated 
to themselves arms of honour and antiquity and thus introduced 
a confusion which has never since been remedied." 



Of Heraldry. i-j-t^ 

It was part of the " Duty and office of an Herald" as set 
forth by F. Thynne in 1605, " to prohibit merchants ... to 
put their names, marks or devices in escutcheons or shields, 
which belong to gentlemen bearing arms and none others." 
(Lower's "Curiosities of Heraldry," 1845, p. 42.) Thomas 
Amory, writing from the Azores or from Boston often reminds 
correspondents who are to receive packages from him that his 
mark is a monogram (which he draws) of his initials, T. A. 
One of his papers written at Angra is sealed with the same 
initials in a more complicated monogram. The will of 
his father, Jonathan Amory of South Carolina (destroyed 
with other public records by the burning of the city of 
Columbia, February 17th, 1865), is said in Dr. Joseph Johnson's 
" Traditions " (Charleston, 185 i, page 272), to have " an eglet, 
the family seal, attached to it." In answer to a question on 
this point from Mr. T. C. Amory, Dr. Johnson writes, Julv 
3rd, 1852, " I have been inquiring for the old Seal and Cypher. 
The first I found attached to the Will of Jon^ 
Amory in 1699 in tolerable preservation. I in- 
close a copy of it, but really do not know what 
it [is] intended to represent. The Eglets in- 
graved on two old Spoons are distindlly remem- 
bered by my niece Mrs Sarah Trescot, and she Seal on Jonathan 
remembers to have heard that they had be- A^oRy'^ Will. 

r i r ■^ [Died] 1699. 

longed to my mother's branch of the family ; 
but there is reason to believe that they were melted down . . . 
to make something more useful." Dr. Johnson's mother was 
the only grandchild of that Mrs. Amory who came to 
Charleston about 1750, For his belief in regard to her hus- 
band see above, page 98. 

N N 




274 77)^ Descendatits of Hugh Amory. 

Some of Hugh Amory's descendants have occasionally 
used arms, but without proving a right to them. The earliest 
instance seems to be in 171 2, when Robert Amory's will 
having been proved at Antigua and a copy made and sent 
home by John Gierke (husband of Robert's niece Mary 
Hoskins), John Amory of Galway, Alderman, appeared before 
the Vicar-General at Limerick to declare his belief that the 
will was genuine and the copy a true one, and to give his 
consent that Bunratty should adt as executor. This declara- 
tion and consent, written on a blank page of the will (Public 
Record Office, Dublin) have, each of them, the signature 
"John Amory," with a seal in red wax beside it. The Vicar- 
General also signs, but I am told that the seal is not his because 
it does not show the crossed keys of the diocese of Limerick. 
It is so small that I had great difficulty in making out what it 
does show, enough to draw it. The page was afterwards 
photographed with even less success, as the seal did not take 
at all. It has since been suggested to me that a rubbing, such 
as is taken of ancient brasses, would have done better, and if 
any of the family should be in Dublin again that might be 
worth trying. Meanwhile, my drawing shows a shield harry 
potentee of six, over all a bend. Crest : out of a mural 
coronet, a talbot's head, erased. Between shield and crest is 
the helmet, often put for ornament in a painting of arms, but 
forming no part of the device. Supposing my report to be 
correct and the potentee to be an engraver's error for nebulee, 
is this to be taken as evidence that John Amory possessed arms, 
the arms of Giles D'Amorie of Cotherington? Possibly, but 
there are reasons against it. In the first place, the Visitation 
of Sornersetshire in 1623, when "the College of Heralds was 



Of Heraldry. 273 

in great repute," does not notice any Amory: Hugh, then, 
claimed no arms. Next, the engraver's error, which we 
suppose in this seal, implies that the seal was cut from a 
written description of arms : otherwise a series of curves would 
not have become right angles (the difference between nebulee 
zrxd patentee). The person, then, for whom it was cut could 
offer no older representation of the arms to serve as a model. 
One recollects that in the year 1683 when Bunratty arrived in 
London full of the idea of an estate in England as well as in 
Ireland, and doubtless of a career to match, the College of 
Arms, at no great distance from the Middle Temple, had just 
been rebuilt after its destrudlion in the Great Fire, and was 
now re-opened. In this year also, the heralds made that last 
Visitation, in which they found it " most useless to issue com- 
mands." Bunratty was ambitious, his mother's family had 
titles, the aspiring genealogical fables of the Wakefield letter 
are given on his authority. In 171 1, his young cousin 
desiring " the Consulage of these Islands " asks him to " en- 
deavour to get it from. the Queen or Secretary," as if he had 
influence. In 171 2 he was establishing himself in the Earl of 
Thomond's castle ; his town house was in Dublin, where there 
had lately come a rage for fashion and display. Many persons 
regard arms as " the indispensable accompaniment of wealth," 
and if a man has them it completes the idea for his uncle to 
have them too. I imagine Bunratty accompanying John 
before the Vicar-General, and lending him a ring to seal with. 
Mr. T. C. Amory knew nothing of these seals at Dublin, 
but as to his own immediate family's use of the arms which 
Lord Milton took, he wrote in 1856 ("New England 
Historic-Genealogical Register," vol. x., p. 59, note) : " Dur- 



2/6 'The Descenda7its of Hugh Amory. 

ing the latter part of the last century as America was 
becoming democratic, coats of arms were regarded by many 
persons as somewhat opposed to the spirit of our institu- 
tions, and their use very generally relinquished. This pre- 
judice was soon considered unfounded, and arms not only 
quite innocent, but of some value in distinguishing different 
branches of the same family, or different families of the same 
name. About fifty years ago, and again, later, in 1824, dif- 
ferent members of the family . . . chancing to be in London, 
applied at the Herald's Office, to ascertain the particular arms 
they were entitled to bear according to the laws of Heraldry 
there recognized. Those most usually borne by families of 
the name in England were in both cases assigned to the appli- 
cants, and since have been used by some members of the family 
here. The shield in heraldic phrase has, in addition to the 
bend, a barry nebulee of six, argent and gules, . . . and the 
crest is a talbot's head azure out of a mural coronet or. These 
arms are those borne by the name in Somersetshire, in which 
county the immigrant ancestor to this country was born, and 
where his family had held land. . . , The applicant of 18 10 
or thereabouts adopted for his motto the Spanish words Amor 
y Amistad, . . . The English motto is Tu ne cede malis." 

Mr. Amory, it will be noticed, implies that both appli- 
cants received the same arms. Yet, while his own bookplate, 
in use at least as early as 1869, has barry nebulee, argent and 
gules, over all a bend engrailed azure; crest, out of a mural 
coronet a talbot's head erased (colours not shown) — his brother's 
bookplate at the same date has barry nebulee argent and gules, 
over all upon a bend sable three bezants or; crest, out of a 
mural coronet (colour not shown) a talbot's head azure, eared 



Of Heraldry, 277 

or. In a manuscript note on " Amory Arms," by a great- 
grandson of the first Thomas Coffin Amory, I find quoted 
from Robson's " British Herald," i 830, " ' Amorie or D'Amorie, 
Gloucestershire : Barry nebulee of six argent and gules, over 
all upon a bend sable three bezants or. Crest : out of a mural 
coronet or, a talbot's head azure, eared or,' (No motto given.) 
These arms are the ones I have always known at Boston," adds 
the manuscript. Its author was born in 1849. He observes 
that Tu ne cede malts is " given by Burke and commonly spoken 
of as the corredl motto by members of the family. Another 
' canting ' or ' punning ' motto in Spanish is also mentioned, 
Amor y Amistad (Love and Friendship) but seems to have no 
authority." This last motto, introduced by " the applicant of 
1 8 ID or thereabouts" (who was, I have always been told, 
Nathaniel Amory), is the one on Mr. T. C. Amory's book- 
plate and seal : his brother had " In Deo Confido." Mottoes are 
generally considered changeable at pleasure ; arms, of course, are 
not changeable without a new grant from the Heralds. The 
diversity in the coats, then, is definitive proof that no family 
tradition of possessing arms had been handed down to the 
nineteenth century. No two brothers, it is obvious, could 
inherit different arms. Younger sons may take some small 
additional charge called a " difference," to distinguish them 
from the head ot the family and from each other, but this 
must be confirmed to them by the Heralds, and of such con- 
firmation the College of Arms is supposed to preserve a record. 
In the General Search lately made for me at that office, no 
such confirmation, nor any kind of grant, to descendants of 
Hugh Amory came to light ; nor were Amorie or D'Amorie 
arms discovered having a bend with bezants, I do not find 



278 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

that Robson gives his authority for the statement that they 
existed. 

At the head of the article in "The Genealogical Register," 
1856, Mr. T. C. Amory put an engraving of a shield azure, 
on a bend argent three eagles displayed sable, which at that 
moment he believed to be his true family arms. This coat, he 
writes, " was taken from a silver tankard . . . the same, 
doubtless, mentioned in the will of Mrs Martha Amory . . . 
whe died in 1699. The tankard is now in the possession of 
Mrs Amory of Roxbury." He goes on to account for the 
family's having sought arms in London when they already had 
these, by supposing that " they were not aware ... of the 
existence of the tankard which being somewhat out of fashion 
was possibly not often in sight." But it is not even proved 
that the tankard is the same which is mentioned in the will 
of Mrs. Martha Amory (see above, p. ^j), nor, if it is, that it 
was Jonathan Amory's before he married her ; nor, in that 
case, that the arms were his own. Mrs. Rhett's account of 
the division of the property in 1707 has a long list, headed, 
" Mr Thomas Amory Cr." Among the items are : " By some 
Peices of Cedar sold 10/; By the third Part of the Neat 
Ballance of Mr Jonathan Amory's Estate ^323 : 7 : 3 ; By 
a Silver Tankard given him by Mrs Martha Amory in her 
Will ;^io ; 16 : o." It may be left to those who understand 
book-keeping to decide whether Thomas, when he came to 
Carolina in 17 19, received the tankard itself or only its cash 
value. In the former case, when he asked John Amory of 
Taunton whether " we are related, by the Information I give 
you," the information most to the point would have been, 
" Such and such are the arms on my father's tankard." Of 



Of Heraldry. 279 

the Roxbury one, Miss Ernst, great-granddaughter of Mrs. 
Amory of Roxbury, writes in 1894: "The coat of arms is 
partially covered by a nose that someone put over it. We 
always supposed that it was about two hundred years old, but 
Koopman to whom we showed it says that it cannot possibly 
be more than one hundred and fifty years old, and that it has 
the mark of a New England firm on it." Later than Martha's 
time Charleston depended on Boston for silversmith's work, 
tor in 171 6 the younger Francis Holmes having married and 
settled in Charleston, sends to his sister Rebecca at Boston 
" 40 oz. plate ... to be made in i Qt_Tanckard, 2 porringers, 
12 spoones, all w'^'' desire you will see them gott for me . . . 
W^** Service done to me Shall Ever Take Kinde at yo'' hands." 
Mr. T. C. Amory's later view was that the arms belonged to 
Martha's family, but he failed to learn her name from them. 
Here shall follow a bewildering anecdote of no possible value. 
When in 1898 a Pursuivant at Arms allowed me to see the 
Heralds' books, I thought it worth while to show him the 
engraving of these arms in the "Register." He said he knew 
nothing of such a coat, and we went on searching for other 
things. Halt an hour had passed before he opened an old 
volume of pedigrees (to which the index, whereby we were 
working, referred us for Amore), and found a Channell pedigree, 
undated, but written he thought early in the seventeenth cen- 
tury. Robert Channell, son and heir, had married Isabell, 
daughter of Thomas Amore, who bore azure, on a bend or, three 
eagles sable. Without being aware that I had noticed it, the 
Pursuivant said at once : " There you have what you have in 
your book," glancing towards the " Register" which had been 
put aside. The descent from Robert and Isabel] was traced 



2 8o The Descenda?its of Hugh Amory. 

through their daughter Cicely Channell and her daughter 
Agnes Cockfylde to Agnes's son John Tailboyes, whose daughter 
Margaret was the first wife (no children indicated) of John 
Ayscough from whose name, with that of his second wife 
(heiress of Sir Richard Tunstall), a pied de grue shows de- 
scendants not specified. Sir George Ayscue (the same sound 
with Ayscough) had conquered Barbadoes for Cromwell about 
thirty years before Jonathan Amory's first wife died there. 
The same coat is given in Edmondson (" Compleat Heraldry," 
page 3) as belonging to Ammory. A pedigree of Herreys at 
the College of Arms mentions a daughter of Foulke d'Amorye, 
whose arms are azure, a bend argent, three eagles displayed 
sable, and who must have lived about 1470. I may now leave 
the subjedl of the tankard. 

In 1866 ("Heraldic Journal," vol. ii., p. loi) Mr. 
T. C. Amory proposed still another coat. He had by then 
received through Mr. H. G. Somerby, Sir Bernard's Burke's 
copy of a pedigree in the College of Arms at Dublin,"" tracing 
the line of Mrs. McMahon's descendants from Thomas Amory 
of Galy, and giving a sketch without colours of a shield barry 
nebulee of six, on a chief a lion passant; crest, an eagle's head 
erased. Mr. Somerby sent also from a manuscript volume of 
" Heraldic Colledlions relating to the Nobility and Gentry of 
Ireland" (British Museum Addit., MSS. 4815, fol. 163), the 
following note : " Com. Kerry : Armory or Amory. Nebule 
of 6 ^. & G., on a chief of y' i^* a lion pass' of y^ 2^^ Armed 
j5." Below this blazon the head of a pheasant or eagle marked 
or is drawn, probably for the crest. I have no explanation to 
offer, unless such arms belonged to some company of merchants 
of which Thomas of Galy was a member. 



Of Heraldry. 281 

Here a few notes may be made on Amory arms in general. 
The College of Arms has four or five instances of an Amory 
or D'Amory coat barry nebuly (or else barry wavy or even 
harry dancetty) with no bend. One of these belongs to 
Christopher Dawmory, whose daughter Elizabeth married 
John Fisherton (no date) ; two others to Sir Richard D'Amory 
(no date) ; and the fourth to Amory of Asherney, or Ashregney, 
in Devonshire in 1624. This last family appears in a Visita- 
tion of London in 1662, when the head of the house has 
become a London vintner. Their shield is also found in one 
of the Harleian MSS. (No. 1538, Vol. IV., quoted by Mr. 
Somerby) under the note: "In St Peter's Church in (qu, 
Exeter ?) all these five coates following by the name of Amory." 
The first of the five drawings is marked Amory of Asherney; 
all are barry nebuly argent and gules ; only one has a bend. 
This bend is marked azure. Woodward (" Heraldry, British 
and Foreign," 1 896) describes a seal used by Elizabeth, one of 
the sisters and co-heiresses of Gilbert de Clare, last Earl of 
Gloucester. " The central shield," he says, " bears the arms 
of Roger d'Amori, the lady's third husband, who died circa 
1322 — barry wavy argent and gu/es, a bendlet azure." In 
Edmondson's " Compleat Heraldry," p. 86 : " D'Amory : 
Barry nebulee of six, argent and gu/es, a bend azure.'' In the 
" Gatherings of Oxfordsher, Anno 1574, by Richard Lee of 
the College of Arms," are several notes of arms, to which the 
Harleian Society, printing the manuscript in 1871, added the 
names in brackets : 

Page 37. " In Great Mylton Churche — Barry nebulee 
argent and guks [D'Amory]. Barry nebulee of six a?'gent and 
gules, a bend azure [D'Amory]." 

o o 



282 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Page 71. "In Christes Church in Oxon. A fayr tombe 
with all these armes about yt. . . . Barry nebulee of six or 
and guks [D'Amory]." 

Page 175. " Wayneman of Fringford impales Barry nebulee 
of six argent and sai/e, a bend or [D'Amory J." 

Page 209. " Power of Blechingdon. — Arms Quarterly i 
& 4 Barry nebulee of six argent and sable a bend or [D'Amory]. 
2 Argent a chief indented sable [Power]. 3 Two bars within 
a bordure engrailed (untindtured) [Cottesford]." 

Page 210. "Sir Walter Power, Knight, of Odington, 
Oxon, eldest son and heir to Sir William, married Katherine, 
daughter to Robert [D'Aumory of] Blechesdon, Oxford- 
shire, aunt and heir to the daughters of Richard Dalmorey 
[D'Aumory] her brother." 

By the number of later generations mentioned at the 
Visitation it is clear that this Katherine D'Aumory lived about 
the year 1300. 

We have manuscript references to Rietstap's " Armorial 
General," 1884, for "Lord D'Amorie — Gloucestershire; 
family extinft in the 14''' Century — harry nebulee argent and 
gules, a bend azure" crest not mentioned ; to the Antiquarian 
Repertory, London, 1775, for " Arms of Sir Richard Amory 
of Oxfordshire unde argent et goulis," and " Arms of Sir Roger 
Amorie of Oxfordshire Mesure les armys et une bend sable ; " to 
Aveling's " Heraldry " for : " The shield of Roger d'Amori, 
barry nebulee of six argent and gules, a bend sable, is mentioned 
in a roll of Edward the Second." (See also Boutell's "Heraldry," 
p. 406.) 

In Fairbairn's " Crests " is " Amory : out of a ducal coronet 
or, a plume of seven ostrich feathers argent, four and three." 



Of Heraldry . 283 

The Rev. Thomas Amory of St. Teath's writes about 1875, 
" Some person of Bicester sent my brother a crest taken from 
the monuments of Bicester Abbey, containing a Plume of 
Feathers." 

The only arms, not already mentioned, which were found 
in the general search at the College of Arms, 1898, for Amory, 
Amery, Aimery, D'Amory, Daumari, De Amari, Demeri, 
Emery, belong to the seventeenth century, and are: 

Emery or Fennell : gules, on a bend ermine between two 
martletts or, a martlett of the last. 

Emery : barry of six, gu. or. in chiet three cinquefoils or. 

Emory arms impaled by Farwell : Or, in chief three 
cinquefoils or. This is an Emory of Somersetshire who died 
in 1657. Not a record, but found in one of the Painters' 
Books. 

Amery or Emery of Essex, 1628, argent, three bars nebuly 
gules, in chief as many torteaux. 

Amery or Emery of Essex, 1634, barry nebuly of six, 
argent znd gules, in chief three annulets gules. This may be 
seen also in the Visitation of Essex, 1634, where the name is 
Emory als Amory. (Harl. Soc. Publications, vol. xiii., p. 393.) 





CHAPTER XVII. 

Of Other Amorv Families. 

NE of the staff of the Bodleian Library, Mr. W. H. 
Turner, was engaged by Mr. T. C. Amory in 
1 87 1 to look, up the history of the Oxfordshire 
D'Amorys. Mr. Turner, beside his special know- 
ledge of early charters and rolls preserved at the Bodleian — 
of which he edited a Calendar — had leave to study collec- 
tions of the same kind at some of the Colleges — Christ Church, 
Oriel, and Magdalen. He continued the search in London. 
" I feel sure," he writes in 1872,-'^'^ " that there must be a lot 
in the Record Office. The list you have sent me [of searches 
already made] is blank as far as that repository is concerned ; 
the few things from the Close and Patent Rolls can always be 
found because that is a class of Records that is well indexed, 
but it is the searching among the various subsidies that are 
stored there by thousands and the going through the pleas. . . . 
Your list does not include any extrafts from the Fines and 
Recoveries, a class of Records that throw more light upon 
genealogical history than any other. . , . The Fines begin 
temp. Henry II. [i 154-1 189] and the Recoveries 12 Edward IV. 



Of Other Amory Families, 285 

[1472]. They have been preserved in almost uninterrupted 
succession from Richard I. [i 189-1 199] to George II. [1727]. 
Now I should propose that these Records for Oxfordshire, 
Devonshire, Buclcinghamshire and Somersetshire be thoroughly- 
searched. ... I should like to obtain as much information 
as I can from the Placita. We must find out from these 
sources the disposition of the lands of the Amories and also 
their marriages. If by this means we can reach the reign of 
Elizabeth I think we shall get on all right. . . . You seem 
to have all the wills and recent documents but I shall visit the 
Probate Court with your list and see if I can find anything 
more. . . . Bodley has supplied you with all that she has. 
The Record Office is the only place in which we may hope 
to trace the connexion between Devonshire and Oxfordshire. 
... I have no doubt that there is much [there] . . . but the 
searching is such a lottery that unless one has a clue to a 
reference it often turns out blank." After a month's work in 
London he writes again: "The Devon fines to Henry VI. 
[1422] turned out blank, but the later ones may have some- 
thing. ... I brought the Oxford fines down to Edward II. 
[1307]." . . . His later reports include fines and other records 
until the death in 1375 of Sir Richard D'Amory. " Between 
1375 and 1405, just thirty years, I could not find any records 
to help me and from this point the documents [which I have] 
copied are not connected with each other." By 1875 his 
Record Office plan had probably been carried out, for he 
writes: " I have not quite made up my mind about the proper 
way to work for you. ... I am afraid I shall not be able to 
find the connecting link between the Devon and Oxon 
Amorys, but I could work up the Cheshire families." Here 



286 The Desce?idants of Hugh Amory. 

Mr. Turner's letters and reports come to an end. The fafts 
gathered by means of them may be told as follows : — 

" The ancient barons Damory " were, striftly speaking, 
two brothers, Richard and Roger, who in the reign of 
Edward II. (1307- 13 27) rose by royal favour to that rank, 
holding land by military service direftly from the King, and 
having summons to Parliament by special writ. Roger had 
married the king's niece, Elizabeth de Clare. The existence 
of either barony was brief. Roger was attainted and forfeited, 
having taken part in the attack on the Despencers and finally 
joined the Earl of Lancaster's rebellion. He had no son. 
Richard's son, that Sir Richard who died by 1375, is said to 
have impoverished himself for the sake of equipment for the 
wars in France : he resigned most of his lands to the king 
(Edward III.), retaining only a life-interest in them, and other- 
wise alienated the rest of his estate. He is not said to have 
had a son, and he certainly left no inheritance for one : Sir 
Nicholas Dammory, four times a knight of the shire for 
Oxfordshire, and more than once honourably employed by the 
king, is more probably his brother than his son. 

The barons' ancestors can be traced to the twelfth century. 
For the eleventh there are dim conflifting probabilities, and a 
mist of speculation as to the origin of these or of any other 
Amorys. Fortunately the question has in one way a limit : 
Amory is not in any language a common noun. It began its 
course among the Germanic nations and began it as a Christian 
— at any rate as a personal — name, derived from terms signify- 
ing " work ruler " or " the toiling hero." It was Amalrich, 
Almerich or Emmerich in Germany, Almerigo in Spain, 
Americo in Portugal, Almaric, Amauri, Hamon in France, 



Of Other Atnory Families. 287 

^thelmsr, Almaric, Ailmer in pre-Norman England ; be- 
coming Amauricius, Americus, Ailmerus or even Haimerius 
when written in Latin. An unfettered system of spelling 
added forms too many to count. Henry III.'s half-brother 
wrote himself Ethelmarus, while his nephew kept the House 
of Lusignan's form, Aymar. Miss Yonge (" History of 
Christian Names ") giving some of these particulars observes 
that " Emmery is a surviving English surname ; " she ignores 
Amory and D'Amory. If there were any lack of evidence 
that Emory and Emery are mere variations in the writing of 
Amory, our own papers and traditions would supply it. To 
write ^-mory, and say Em-ory has been the immemorial 
custom of the family at Boston ; a custom wholly justified by 
analogy, for who, writing 7^/iames, would say anything but 
'Terns? That they brought this pronunciation from England 
is shown by Mrs. O'Connor's remark at Bristol (page 107), 
"Your relations the Emorys, for so they write their name." 
It is the writing which surprises her: she finds nothing new 
in the sound. Ann Ramsay once writes, " Mr Emory " for 
Thomas Amory of Rathlahine. 

The use of hereditary surnames, beginning a little earlier 
in Normandy, dates in England from the Conquest, though 
not among any but noble or important families : it continued 
for some centuries to signify high birth. A paper (not a 
record) at the College of Arms, apparently a first sketch of the 
pedigree already discussed, derives Joseph Damer, Esq. through 
the barons D'Amory, from " the Sire Dambemare who came 
in with William the Conqueror, to whom that Prince gave 
several Lordships, some whereof still remain in their posses- 
sion." The Pursuivant, on my seeing this paper, hastened to 



288 "The Descendants of Hugh A?nory. 

warn me off from it : " That whole story," he said, " must be. 
taken with a great many grains of salt ! It goes back to the 
Age of Fable." Some modern writers, however, seem to take 
it on trust from Collins and Lodge, though with variations. 
Burke's " Landed Gentry," in the edition of 1855, gave to the 
Gloucestershire Amories an ancestor who " came to England 
with the Conqueror from Tours." The same author's " Battle 
Abbey Roll " (published in 1848), and the Duchess of Cleve- 
land's "Roll of Battle Abbey" (1889), say that the barons 
D'Amory were descendants of a Norman warrior, " Damry," 
the later work adding that Damry is " for D'Amorie, from 
Damars or Amorie near Caen." A local surname taken from 
a place in Normandy, if it ever became hereditary, must 
obviously have done so in the first English generation. This 
test cannot be applied satisfadlorily in the present case as the 
earliest documentary evidence belongs to the sixty-third year 
after the Conquest. In that year, i 129, a charter is witnessed 
by " Rogero de Amari," but the next occurrence of the name 
is in the Thame Chartulary about 11 35, when " Robertus 
filius Almerici " makes a gift of land at Chesterton, a charter 
of 1 138 being witnessed by "Henrico filio Roberti filio 
Aumari." It is not certain that any — yet it is likely that all — 
of these persons belonged to the barons' family. If they did 
the " de Amari" has less weight in favour of "Damars or 
Amorie near Caen " than *' filius Almerici " has against it. 
Even after the name had become fixed as a surname, it had 
not invariably the de or D' : in i 2 1 9 (translated by Mr. Turner) 
"Robert the son of Ralph Aumaric " ; in 1285 " Ricardus 
filius Roberti Amary." (This Richard was the barons' father.) 
Nor need " Filius Almerici " mean that Almericus was the 



Of Other Amory Fafnilies. 289 

father's Christian name. " Radulphus filius Almarici " is 
written early in the thirteenth century for a son of that Robert 
who was " filius Almerici " seventy years before. As if 
Amory were a title — given in these two instances not to the 
living, but to the late, head of the house. By 11 35, in the 
second generation after the Conquest, Norman Christian 
names like Robert, Ralph, and Richard are to be expefted 
even in a family of Old English origin. The patronymic 
surname might result from an earlier custom — such as the de 
Montforts had — of naming a son in each generation Amory, 
whether as Amauri or i^thelmaer. To prove that it did so 
would neither decide the question of race, nor bring all persons 
surnamed Amory into one family, since in either country, and 
at different times, in families unrelated, the Christian name 
might have a like development. 

For a Norman origin, the " Damry " of Battle Abbey Roll 
is not conclusive. The Roll, supposed to be the Conqueror's 
approved list of his warriors, disappeared more than a century 
ago, and its testimony had been discredited for at least a 
century before that, by a suspicion that the monks, who had 
charge of it until the Reformation, sometimes inserted names 
to gratify persons in power. The likeness of " Damry " to 
D'Amory rather supports the idea that they did so in this 
case, for in charters the barons' ancestors are not written 
D'Amory until the last quarter of the thirteenth century. 
There is one instance in 1216, and one in 12 18, of Damari ; 
but in all the early variety of forms D'Amory does not happen 
to appear. It is significant that Dunkin, familiar with the 
charters in Kennett's " Parochial Antiquities " — perhaps also in 
the original documents — correds the form of the statement 

p p 



290 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

while taking the substance no doubt from Lodge : " The name 
of De Amory," he says, " appears in Battle Abbey Roll." No 
one else reports it in that shape, but in the charters " De 
Amory " is found as early as 1 189, and is almost the rule from 
1243 to 1275. The Norman theory may be true, but one 
might almost as reasonably urge that as there was an Old 
English Ailmer or T^thelmaer the Great (to be read of in the 
history of iEthelred the Unready, of Swegen and of Canute), 
who founded Eynsham Abbey in Oxfordshire in the year 1005, 
and owned land at Chesterton in that county, the barons must 
have descended from him. It is as a landholder at this same 
Chesterton that " Robertus filius Almerici " first appears. But 
one hundred years and the chasm of the Conquest lie between. 
Of Oxfordshire Amorys before 1375 there are, beside un- 
placed individuals, six groups, how far connefted one cannot 
exaftly say. We may call them for convenience the groups of: 
I. the Gilberts, who are not clearly related even among them- 
selves ; II. Britwell ; III. Cowley ; IV. Chesterton ; V. Blech- 
ingdon ; VI. Bucknell. 

I. The Gilberts. At the Domesday Survey in 1086 four 
manors in the neighbourhood of Chesterton — viz. Blechingdon, 
Bucknell, Fulewell, and Weston — were held of the great baron 
Robert D'Oily by Gislebt, />., Gilbert. " Gislebt," says a 
writer of the " Annals of Blechingdon " (William Wing, 1872), 
" may be inferred, I think, to have been an Anglo-Saxon who 
had the good fortune to be able to re-purchase the land that 
had been confiscated from his possession by the invaders of 
twenty years before." Mr. Turner fancied him a Norman 
whom D'Oily rewarded with land for his service at Hastings. 



Of Other y^mory Families. 291 

However that may be, in 11 10 a house without the city of 
Oxford was bequeathed to Eynsham Abbey by Gilbert 
d'Ameri. In 11 49 Gilbert de Amari witnessed a charter by 
which the d'lvrys, with whom Robert D'Oily had shared his 
vast Oxfordshire estate, confirmed his previous gift of the tithes 
to Oseney Abbey. In 1 169 Gilbert de Aumary had seizin of 
his lands at Winford in Somersetshire, which manor was held 
by Amorys until Sir Richard de Amory gave it away after 1270. 
In 1 197 the Sheriff of Oxfordshire returned a Gilbert de Almari 
as owing half a knight's fee that he might be exempt from going 
on active service to Normandy. The next year land at Marston, 
Bucks, which Gilbertus de Aumari had held, was confirmed to 
his widow Alice Daumari and Galfrid {i.e., Geoffrey) her son. 

II. Britwell. Another Domesday tenant, Almaricus, held 
of Milo Crispin a manor called Britwell, at the south-east 
corner of Oxfordshire. In a charter written between 1220 
and 1230, John the son of Almaricus of East Britwell concedes 
an acre of land to a priory at Wallingford. In 1279 the 
Hundred Rolls show John Amare holding at Britwell one acre 
of Sir Thomas de Parco, and half a virgate with eight acres of 
the Prioress of Littlemore. There is no later record of this 
line, unless the Amorys of Maiden, Essex, continue it. One 
of these. Sir John Amory, who died in 1341, bore ^tt/fj a cross 
engrailed or, fusilly argent, charged with five roses gules. He 
married the heiress of Frolesworth, in Leicestershire, and 
moved to that county, where his line came to an end before 
the fifteenth century. The Essex family continued into the 
seventeenth. 

III. Cowley. In 1 188 a charter giving land to the Knights 



292 The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 

Templars, whose head preceptory was at Sandford, a mile 
beyond Cowley, near Oxford, is witnessed by several persons, 
among them " Amarico de Couele, Andrea filio ejus et capel- 
lano qui scripsit hanc cartam." This is the first record of a 
family, eighteen of whose own charters are in existence, giving 
Cowley land to the Knights Templars, to Oseney Abbey, and 
to the Hospital of St. John the Baptist without the East Gate 
of the City of Oxford, which Hospital was on the present site 
of Magdalen College. The charters show five generations 
between 1200 and 13 17, viz. : Amauricius of Cowley, his wife 
Funeholt and his sons Ralph and Andrew ; Andrew's son, 
Geoffrey, who married Juliana and had a son, Andrew Amari 
of Cowley, who married Alice and had a son and heir, William 
Amori of Temple Cowley. They were tenants of the Knights 
Templars (to whom Cowley had been given by Queen Matilda, 
the wife of King Stephen), and William Amori still held the 
manor in 13 17, ten years after the Templars' Order had been 
suppressed. Sir Richard de Amory of Bucknell had charge of 
the Templars' lands for the King in 13 12, and Temple Cowley 
is among the manors for which he renders an account. Some 
of these Cowley charters have the donors' seals, for the most 
part unbroken, appended to them. The inscription on that of 
Andrew (brother of Ralph and father of Geoffrey) is " Andree 
filii Amauri"; his grandson has "Andree fil' Galf Amori "; 
and this last Andrew's widow, " Alicie relifte Aimori de 
Couele." Their son has " Wil'li Ammori." 

The four manors of Gislebt are not mentioned for fifty-two 
years after Domesday. Then, in 1 138, Roger de Amory gives 
to Edith D'Oily's new foundation, the abbey for nuns at God- 
stow, twenty-five acres of land in Blechingdon to sow yearly. 



Of Other Afnory Families. 293 

and as many acres to enclose. From this time Blechingdon 
does not leave the family until after 1375. Bucknell is found 
in 1 20 1 belonging to Robert de Aumari and continues with 
him and his heirs until 1375. Fulewelle is mentioned only 
once: at some time between 1234 and 1254 Adeline de Fule- 
welle gives the whole of the vill to Oseney Abbey for a yearly 
rent of forty shillings, the Abbot also for this concession paying 
down twenty marks to Robert D'Amory and two marks to 
Robert his son. (I quote this form, " D'Amory," from an 
historian, Kennett, not from a record.) With Weston the 
family has at least an association so early as 11 38, for it is 
Edith D'Oily's charter giving to Thame Abbey thirty-five 
acres in that manor, which is witnessed by " Henrico filio 
Roberti filio Aumari." In 1226 Edith's grandson gave the 
whole manor to Oseney Abbey. Both gifts were transferences 
of the chief lordship, over either a part or the whole: such 
transferences need not disturb the tenant who held of the 
D'Oilys. If, however, that tenant was the Amory of the time, 
there was a disturbance of him or his heir about thirty years 
later; for by 1256 Roger de Amory, head of the Bucknell 
family, brings a suit in the Court of King's Bench against 
Oseney for the manor of Weston. After the suit had begun, 
the Abbot of Thame paid Roger four marks sterling to release 
to Thame Abbey all his right and title to its lands in his fee of 
Weston and in the field called Westhull. Richard, King of 
the Romans, was at length made arbiter of the dispute, and in 
1 26 1 , gave judgment that Oseney should buy out Roger's right 
at the price of three hundred marks, which was accordingly 
done. Roger resigned the whole manor, the advowson of the 
Church, and all other appurtenances. 



294 T^i^ Desce?jda?its of Hugh Amory. 

IV. Chesterton. The records of this group are dated from 
1 135 to 1237, covering five generations: i. Robert filius 
Almerici ; 2. William, Robert, Ralph, and Henry ; 3. Robert; 
4. Ralph; 5. Robert and possibly Hugh. 

I. Robertus filius Almerici gave to Thame Abbey " de 
dominio meo quod Curtlicgrave proximum est de terra de 
Cetreton pro anima patris et matris mee et pro anima Henr' 
Regis [who died in 1135] nee non pro animabus parentum 
meorum et parentum uxoris mee quod ob rata perpetuo jugalis 
mee et filiorum meorum Willielmi et Roberti concessione et 
sigilla mei impressione . . ." This is followed in the Thame 
Chartulary by another charter written between 1151 and 
1 173 : "Ego Robtus filius Almalrici dedi et concessi abb. de 
Thame totum dominium meum quod vocatur Wlwardesulle 
, . . Ix acras de Inland et similit totum dominium de Oxe- 
heire id est x acras de Inland et preter xx acras warland inter 
Wlwardeshull et decemannestrate." He mentions Yvice his 
wife, Robert his heir, his own brother Ralph, and the heir's 
brothers, Ralph and Henry. The son William mentioned in 
the first charter does not appear again, unless when Dunkin 
says that in Henry III.'s reign William, son of Amory, held 
one knight's fee in Wendlebury, a village adjoining Chesterton. 
Half a hide in Wendlebury and Chesterton was given to Thame 
Abbey before 1200 by Robert, the son of Robert, the son of 
Amalric, and confirmed by his brother Ralph and by " Amal- 
ric son of Ralph," a first cousin of the four brothers, William, 
Robert, Ralph, and Henry. About 1 169 a man named Am- 
fridus gives to Oseney Abbey "one hide of land in Chesterton 
which Robert the son of Amauricius and Robert his son for 
my service gave me . . . and that this my donation may be 



Of Ot/iet~ Atnory Families. 295 

more firm and stable in time to come it is conceded and con- 
firmed by my lord Robert the son of Robert the son of 
Amauricius." There follow in the Oseney Chartulary un- 
dated confirmatory charters from " Robert the son of Robert 
the son of Amauricius " (see Kennett at the year 1237) from 
" Ralph the son of Robert the son of Amary," and from 
" Ralph the son of Amary," who mentions a charter of 
" Robert the son of Ralph my father," and names " Amabilia 
my wife." In i 1 89 Ralph the son of Amalricus has " loquela " 
in the King's Court in regard to Amalric the son of Ralph and 
half a hide of land in Cressewell. /Vmalricus is dead and 
Thomas Basset has the land of the King. 

2. The repetition of names is confusing, but it would seem 
that Amfridus's " lord Robert," heir to Robert " filius Al- 
merici," left no son and was succeeded by his brother Ralph. 
In 1 181 Radulfo Daumari is a witness to Henry D'Oily's con- 
firmation of his father's and mother's gift at Weston to the 
Abbey of Thame, another witness being " Ricardo Daumari," 
chaunter, archdeacon, and elsewhere called dean, ot Lincoln. 
Ralph must have died about i 187, when, according to Kennett, 

3. Robert, the son of Ralph, the son of Robert de Amory, 
confirmed and added to the gift of Amfridus. Robert is per- 
haps that Amalricus whose minor son, 

4. Ralph, is mentioned in a Pipe Roll of 1 1 95 : " William 
of the Church of St Mary's renders an account of 50 marks 
for having the custody of the heirship of Ralph the son of 
Amalricus with the whole of his land that he may be able to 
marry the said Ralph to one of his kindred." I suppose that 
Amabilia was the wife so chosen and that Ralph died within 
a few years : 



296 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

5. In the Oblate Rolls at the year 1201 the Bishop of 
London undertakes to answer for the heir of Ralph the son of 
Amauri for three knights' fees of the Honour of Wallingford. 
Chesterton was in this Honour, but it is not clear whether the 
three fees included nothing but Chesterton ; it was called two 
knights' fees at some time between 1 2 1 6 and 1 272. As a fee was 
an expression of value, not a measure of extent, the number of 
fees was sometimes changed without any change in the property. 
In a Fines Roll of 1205 the Lord W. Bishop of London owes 
scutage of the land of Robert, the son of Ralph, the son of 
Amauri of Chesterton. In 1208 two Roberts are surety for 
Walter de Time ; and in this or the next year a charter of 
Richard de Camvill giving tithes to Bicester Priory is wit- 
nessed by Roberto Aumari, Roberto et Radulfo filiis ejus, and 
Roberto filio Aumari. This last is probably the Chesterton 
Robert. He appears again in the same company in 12 14 as 
Roberto filio Amarici ; and in 12 19, at an " assisa mortis ante- 
cessorum," Robert, son of Ralph Aumaric, has a quit claim 
deed of a virgate of land at Chesterton from Hugh, son of 
Ralph. 

V. Blechingdon. The dates begin in 11 38 with i. Roger: 
he may, or may not, be the father of 2. Robert, who is father 
of 3. Roger, who has three sons, 4. Robert, Raph, and 
Richard. It is not shown how any of this group may be 
related to " Robert Aumary of Blechesdon," whose children, 
Richard and Katherine, are living about 1300. 

I. For Roger, who gave to Godstow the fifty acres, half to 
sow and half to enclose, there is no charter as evidence, only 
Kennett's general reference to the Monasticon. 



Of Other Amory Families. 297 

2. From a Chartulary of Godstow in the Bodleian Library 
Mr. Turner copied : (a.) " A Charter of Robert of Aumery 
to Abbey of Godstow for 32 acres in Blechesdon [/.^., Bletch- 
ingdon]. The sentence of thys evidence is that Robert of 
Aumery gaf & grauntyd to god & to the churche of our lady 
seynt Mary & of seynt John baptist of Godstowe & to the 
holy mynchons there serving God xxxii acris of lond & one 
yerd londe \v* hys hedys of hys londe in the town of bleches- 
don into pur & perpetuall almys for the helthe of his soule & 
hys auncetors to be hadde . . . frely, restfully pesybly & 
worshypfully." The position of the different pieces of land is 
then described; they are scattered about all over the property 
and seem to amount to a good deal more than thirty-two acres. 
" Furthermore he grauntyd to the seyde holy mynchons of 
Godstowe pasture to iiii kyne in his owne pasture in the same 
towne of blechesdon w' hys kyne where so evyr they goo oute 
take iij crofts by thowt hys court of the west part w' wellmede 
& furthermore for hym & hys heyrys to the seyd holy mynchons 
of Godstow fre goynge thorowe hys wood 6c thorowe hys lond 
in hys maner of Pyrye for her [= their] carts & carrys to go 
and come w'^'out any vexacon or lette for evyr ... & the 
seyd Robert confirmed for hym & hys heyrys all the gevynge 
of hys aunceturs a geynst all men and all wemen for evyr & 
for that his yeft . . . sholde be ferme ... he put to his seele 
to the writynge thereof & is w' out date." 

3. (b.) "A charter of londys igef by Rog' of Aumary fitz 
Robert Aumery to Godstowe," the gift being twenty-one 
selions {i.e. ridges) of his arable land in tilth. 

4. (c.) A confirmation by Raph of Aumery " of the yeft 
that Rog'' hys fadur made . . . that is to say XXV acris of 



o o 



298 77^^? Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

hys lordship yerly to be sowyd in the ground of blechesdon & 
by syde these XXV acris he yaf tweyne acris to make a 
dwellynge place into perpetual almis to the churche ... of 
Godstowe & to the mynchons there servynge God w' hys too 
dowhters y'^ whych were made mynchons in the same churche." 
He did all this with the assent of " Hadewyse his wyfe & hys 
sonys that is to say Robert Raph and Richard w' Syr Henry 
Doyly graunting and confirmynge the same." The first Sir 
Henry D'Oily succeeded to the barony in 1156 or shortly 
before. He was followed by his son, the only other Sir Henry 
of that name; who died in 1232. It will be noticed in the 
first charter that Robert of Aumery held the manor of Pyrye, 
/.^., Woodperry : it was in the Honour of S. Walery. Among 
the tenants of that Honour in 121 2 are Robertas de Aumari 
and Ricardus D'Aumari, but their manors are not named. In 
1224 Alexander and Emma de Burton acknowledge Robert 
Aumary's right to one knight's fee in Woodperry. 

There are several early charters witnessed by " Roger." 
1 1 29, the D'Oilys found Oseney Abbey; first witness: 
" Rogero de Amari " ; 1135, Robert de Gait founds Ottlei 
(afterwards Thame) Abbey, with land at Oddington, " Rogero 
de Aumari " ; 1201, a Basset gift to Bicester Priory, " Rogero 
de Aumary ; " 1212, charter to Bicester from the Prioress of 
Merkyate, Bedfordshire, " domino Rogero de Aumari " ; 1297, 
to Oseney from Hugh de Plessis, second and ninth witnesses, 
" Rogero de Amory " ; i 298, to Oseney again from de Plessis, 
" Rogero de Amory." 

There are also several unidentified Roberts witnesses : — 
1 181, founding of Bicester Priory by Gilbert Basset, " Rob. 



Of Other Amory Families. 299 

de Amalri " ; 1188, composition between Bicester and Eyn- 
sham about the tithes of Stratton, " Rob. de Aumari " ; 1 1 89, 
gift of land on Otmoore to the Knights Templars from 
William del Osse of Charlton, " Roberto de Amory " ; 1 193, 
a Basset gift of land in Buckinghamshire to Bicester, " Rob. 
de Amari "; at some time between 1190 and 1260, a gift of 
land at Ottendun (now Oddington), to Thame from Gentes- 
chive Poure, " Robert de Almari." Another such charter 
mentions in Oddington " the wood of Ralph the son of 
Almaric of Chesterton." Oddington adjoins Weston, as 
Weston on the other hand adjoins Blechingdon. From the 
north side of Weston, Wendlebury and Chesterton lead past 
Bicester to Bucknell. The villages of Bucknell and Blech- 
ingdon are not more than six miles apart. 

In 1 194 Richard de Amory holds of the Knights Templars 
the manor of Merton to which one of the appendants is land 
in Blechingdon. 

VI. Bucknell. The dates are from 1208 to 1375; the 
generations, rather uncertainly, six. i, Robert; 2, Robert 
and Roger (but they may possibly be not brothers but father 
and son); 3, Roger, a priest, and Robert; 4, Richard; 5, 
Nicholas, Richard and Roger (the barons) ; 6, Richard and 
possibly Nicholas. 

I, Eleven charters to Bicester Priory from 1208 to 12 19 
are witnessed (in some cases, first) by : 1 208 or i 209, " Roberto 
Aumari, Roberto et Radulfo filiis ejus, Roberto filio Aumari " ; 
1210, "Roberto de Aumari, Roberto filio ejus, Ralph de 
Aumari clerico " ; 1 2 1 2, " Roberto D'aumari, Roberto D'aumari 
filio ejus, Radulfo clerico"; 12 14, "Roberto de Aumari, 



300 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Roberto filio ejus, Radulfo filio ejusdem clerico, Roberto filio 
Amarici " ; 12 14 again, "Roberto de Aumari, Roberto et 
Radulpho filiis ejus"; 1216, "Roberto Damari, Roberto 
Damari filio ejus"; 12 17, and soon after again, "domino 
Roberto Daumari " ; 1218, "Roberto Damari et Roberto 
Damari filio ejus"; 1219 in the two charters, "domino 
Roberto de Aumari." Dunkin says that in the reign of King 
John (1199-1216) Robert de Amory, that his son might be 
exempt from military service in France, paid scutage for three 
Knights' fees, two of which were in Bucknell and Blech- 
ingdon. For this there is a reference to Testa de Nevil, 
p. loi b, Kennett says that in 1201 Amory, son of Robert, 
lord of the manor of Bucknell, paid for four Knights' fees. 
In 1208 Robert de Aumari, lord of Bucknell, is a Justice 
Itinerant for the county of Lincoln ; in i 2 1 1 , 1 2 1 3, and 1 224 
for the county of Oxford. He is appointed Keeper of Oxford 
Castle in 1227 and 1235. 

2. It is impossible to say whether these fadts all belong to 
one Robert Amory, or are divided between him and his son 
Robert : and it is also uncertain whether this son Robert was 
elder brother or father to " Rogerus de Amory, filius et 
hxres Roberti de Amory," who succeeds by 1236. In 1228 
Robert de Aumari levied a fine acknowledging the right of 
Thomas de Poignant to lands in the manor of Hameldon in 
Buckinghamshire. In 1236 this manor has passed to Roger, 
who then makes a " finalis concordia in cur 'domini Regis 
apud Bedeford " with the chief lord, the Abbot of Keynsham 
in Somersetshire, agreeing for himself and his heirs to pay to 
the Abbot half a mark every Christmas, with scutage when 
required, in lieu of all services and exadlions, Roger released 



Of Other Afnory Families. 301 

in 1244 to the Hospital of St. John without the East Gate a 
messuage in the village of Thornborough, Bucks, which Elyas 
the Miller holding of him wished to give to the Hospital ; 
and about the same time he made a release of the homage and 
service of William, son of Reginald de Mortimer, from one 
virgate of land ... in Thornberge, and whatever could accrue 
to him the said Roger in the said village in reliefs, escheats, 
etc., except an annual rent of twelve pence. In 1238 the 
" Rentaliaet Custumaria Michaelis de Ambresbury " (Somerset 
Record Society, 1891) shows Rogerus Amauri holding a 
virgate at Sturminster Newton in Dorsetshire ; a mill also, 
with h-xM diferdellam of land. 

In 1243 ^^^ Ki"g required scutage of every knight's fee. 
The demand made upon Roger de Aumeri was for three fees, 
but a charter from Henry d'Oily releasing to Radulfo de 
Aumary one knight's fee was produced in court, on which the 
barons gave judgment that Roger should pay two fees and the 
third be required of the heirs of d'Oily. The memorandum 
of this matter, quoted from the records of the Court, does not 
say whether the fees were at Bucknell or elsewhere, but Kennett 
introduces the story as referring to Roger de Amory, lord of 
the manor of Bucknell. In this same year " Rog. de Almarico, 
mil." presents to the redory of Bucknell; in i 246 at Windsor 
he witnesses a grant of Thornborough land to St. John's with- 
out the East Gate, Oxford; in 1255 he is returned in the 
Hundred Roll as holding four hides in Woodperry of Richard, 
Earl of Cornwall ; in 1257 he witnesses a charter of the Earl's 
and has leave to attend him for one year beyond the sea. It 
was in 1261, after the Earl of Cornwall's return to England as 
King of the Romans, that Roger's suit with Oseney was 



302 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

brought to its end. In this year he sells one virgate in 
Chesterton. In 1264 the Reftor of Bucknell having been 
made Bishop of Glasgow, Roger presents his own son Roger 
to the living. In 1268 he witnesses at Oxford John Fitz 
Alan's release of lands in Thornboro to the Hospital without 
the East Gate. In 1271 he gives a messuage in Oxford to the 
Convent of Godstow, together with his daughter Joan to be- 
come a nun there. In the same year he has an agreement 
with Oseney Abbey about the manor of Bucknell, paying to 
the Abbot jT^Q ^^- 9^-> " """^^ ^^^^ abbas et conventus omnes 
scripturas obligatorias et feofFamenta de manerio de Bukenhull 
et omnia alia instrumenta tarn de difto manerio quam de 
pecunia prefata did;o Rogero plenarie sine aliqua retencione 
restituerunt. . . . Prefatus vero Rogerus fatetur se plenarie 
recepisse omnia munimenta penes diftos abbatem et con- 
ventum deposita." In 1272 a Bicester charter is witnessed by 
"Domino Rogero de Aumari, Roberto filio ejus," and again 
in 1277 his son Robert is a witness with him. In the 
Hundred Roll of 1279 Roger holds two carucates of land in 
Bucknell of Hugh de Plessitis (of the fee of Doyley) and he of 
the King in Capite . . . the said Roger has in demesne in the 
same village one carucate of . . . de Cranford, and the same 
of the Abbot of Abingdon and gives for scutage " quando 
currit " for half a knight's fee. He also holds a meadow at 
Staunton. Among the free tenants at Bucknell is John of 
Sexington (a hamlet of Bucknell) who holds half a virgate of 
the Prior of Chetwood, who holds it of Rogero Dammor in 
frank almoigne, Ricardus Damori holding it of John for two 
shillings and eightpence a year. In a Quest for Rolls of fees 
in Somersetshire, made from 1279 to 1286, Rogerus Damory 



Of Other Amory Families. 303 

is lord of Easton in Gordano and Crokern Pill. Ricardus 
Damari is " Dominus de Obbeleye," i.e., Ubley, a village three 
or four miles to the south-east of Burrington. 

3. Now follows a Robert, presumably Roger's son of that 
name who witnessed charters with him. The Oxfordshire 
Assize Roll for 1285 shows Hugh de Pleycis pleading against 
Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, for the wardship of Richard, the 
minor heir of Robert Amary, which he claims as his right, 
since of him the said Robert on the day when he was alive 
and dead held six carucates in Blechingdon, Thornborough, 
and Bucknell for the service of three knights' fees. To which 
the Earl replied that of him the said Robert held for one 
knight's fee the manor of Pyrye. Here evidently the Blech- 
ingdon and Bucknell groups are one : possibly they always 
were so ; or, more probably, one of the lines died out and the 
other was its heir. 

4. On the death in 1291 of Roger de Aumori, rector of 
Bucknell, Ric. de Aumori presents to the living. In i 297 the 
Sheriff returns Richard Dammary as holding lands or rents in 
the county of Oxford of the value of _^2o per annum, and as 
being therefore summoned to perform military service in person 
with horses and arms in parts beyond the sea, to muster at 
London on the Sunday next before the odlave of St. John the 
Baptist. In the same year he is summoned to appear with 
horses and arms at a military Council to be held before Edward 
the King's son wherever he shall be in England. A third 
summons announces that the place is Rochester. In 1299 
Sir Richard witnesses a Bicester charter, and, to a FitzNigel 
and de Handlo agreement, " Hiis testibus : dominis Hugone 
le Despenser, Ricardo de Aumari . . . Egidio de Insula, 



304 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

militibus." In 1300 he is returned as holding lands in the 
Counties of Somerset and Dorset of the value of ^4,0, and is 
summoned to a muster at Carlisle for military service against 
the Scots. In this year he is made one of the two justices of 
Oyer and Terminer in the County of Oxford, and is appointed 
to receive the oath of his colleague ; in 130 1 is called again to 
serve against tho Scots; and in 1307 is made one of the con- 
servators of the peace for Oxford, being enjoined a year or two 
later to greater a6tivity in the duties of this commission. It is 
to him that the Knights Templars' lands are entrusted in i 309. 
One wonders if he could be the Sir Richard de Amory who at 
some time after 1270 gave away Winford to his sister's son, 
Sir Peter de Montfort de Beldesert. (See Collinson, " History 
of Somersetshire.") In 1300 and 1307 he is the principal 
witness in charters at Ottendun (now Oddington) and in i 3 i i 
grants the manor of Ottendun to Walter Poure and his wife 
Katherine, daughter of Robert D'Aumery of Blechesdon. 
Katharine is called " aunt and heir to the daughters of Richard 
Dalmorey her brother." (Visitation of Oxfordshire, 1574.) 

5. Dugdale ("Baronage," vol. ii., p. 100) mentions a 
charter of the sixth year of Edward II. (13 12) by which 
Nicholas Damorie obtained the right of free warren in all 
his demesne lands, within his manors of " Bokenhall [i.e., 
Bucknell) and Blechesdon in Com. Oxon and Thornbergh in 
Com. Bucks." In 13 13, however, Richard Damory gives 
the manor of Blechingdon to his brother Roger for life. In 
1 3 14 Richard Dammory and Margaret his wife concede to 
Giles and Alice de Lisle, for their lives, the manor of Thorn- 
borough, for which the said Giles and Alice are to pay them 
each year a rose on St. John the Baptist's Day. The de 



Of Other Af?iory Families. 305 

Lisles also concede land at Preston and at Marsh Gibwyn, to 
Richard and Margaret, who, if they have no children, shall 
be succeeded by Richard's brother Roger, but if Roger have 
no heirs, the property is to return to Christian, daughter of 
Giles and Alice, Soon after this, Richard presents to the 
living of Bix Gibwyn. 

In 1 3 1 5 he witnesses a Fitz Alan charter confirming the one 
witnessed by Sir Roger de Amory in 1246; and is also a 
witness of deeds at Headington; has a grant of free warren 
at Bucknell, Blechingdon, Stoke de I'lsle, Woodperry and 
Bix-Gibwyn, in Oxfordshire, Ubley and Monkesham in 
Somersetshire, and Marsh and Thornborough, Bucks. A writ 
in 13 16 certifies him as lord or joint lord of these and several 
other townships — Bixbrind, Rotherfield Greys, Stoiford, 
Bainton, and Fencote. In 13 19 he is allowed to have an 
annual market at Ubley, and at some time applies for leave 
to impark his lands at Monkesham. Already in 13 13 he was 
Constable of Oxford Castle, and was commanded to raise as 
many foot-soldiers as possible in the county and march them 
to London ; in 1 3 1 8 he is summoned to a muster at Newcastle 
for service against the Scots; in 13 19 and \ t^zo it is ordered 
that all the proceedings before him as Justice of Assize or 
otherwise shall be estreated into the Exchequer; in 13 17 he 
is returned as a banneret, and in 1322 as a knight accustomed 
to arms, fit for service, and now with the King. This was 
the year of his brother Roger's death. 

In I 3 16 Roger Damory had been certified by writ to be 
lord of the townships of Blechingdon, Eston cum Crokane 
{i.e., Easton in Gordano and Crokern Pill) in Somersetshire, 
and Tholthorp and Flawarth in the countv of York. In 13 17 

R R 



3o6 The Descendants of' Hugh Amory. 

a royal official was commanded to take the homage due to the 
King from Hugh le Despencer,junior, Hugh de Audele, junior, 
and Roger Dammory, each of whom had married one of the 
three sisters and co-heiresses of the King's nephew Gilbert de 
Clare, Earl of Gloucester. The Earl had fallen the year before 
in the battle of Bannockburn, and had no successor: his great 
estates were divided between his sisters, and were now, after the 
aft of homage, to be delivered to the three husbands. Roger's 
wife was the youngest sister, Elizabeth, who had been married 
twice before, first to one of the de Burghs and then to 
Theobald de Verdon. As lord of Ewyas Sir Roger was in this 
year and the next commanded to raise fifty soldiers for the 
King's service and summoned in person for military service 
against the Scots, joining the muster at Newcastle in August. 
He presented to the church of Lutterworth, Leicester, Bert- 
rand de Verdon having devised that right to him ; and to that 
of Holbeche as custodian of Sir Robert de Willoughby's lands. 
He was summoned among the barons to Parliament from 
1 3 17; was Governor of Gloucester Castle; Warden of the 
Forests of Purbeck and Dean ; Constable of Corfe, and twice 
Constable of Knaresborough ; and stood so high in the King's 
favour that at his request release was granted to another baron 
of a ten-pounds relief due to the Exchequer. Beside castles 
in the marches of Wales, the manors of Sandhall, Halghton, 
Calthorp and Faukeshall (Vauxhall, Surrey), were bestowed 
by the King upon him and his wite Elizabeth, and he had grant 
of free warren at Calthorp, and at Staundon in Hertfordshire. 
It was in 13 19 that the King besieging Berwick offended 
Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, by saying that he would make 
Hugh le Despencer Governor of the castle, and Roger 



Of Other Amory Families. 307 

Damory Governor of the town. The Earl thereupon with- 
drew with several of his forces, the army declared him a traitor 
and the siege failed. There was already much discontent 
among the barons, the power of the King's favourites, especially 
the Despencers, being jealously resented, A share in the De 
Clare estates was a claim to political power, and already, in 
13 17, Roger Damory had bound himself by oath and indenture 
with the Earl of Pembroke and Bartholomew, lord of Badles- 
mere, to seek supreme influence in the Royal Council, with the 
idea of forming a middle party between the baronial faftion 
headed by Lancaster, and the King. (See Stubbs, " History of 
the English Constitution," vol. ii., chap, xvi., p. 357.) Roger 
was bound in a penalty of ^^T 10,000. Lancaster was then in- 
sisting that the King's gitts to D'Amory and de Audele, as well 
as to Despencer, were contrary to the ordinances, but by 1322 
he had accepted D'Amory and Badlesmere as his allies. They 
had openly opposed the King, sharing in Parliament's attack 
on the Despencers. Edward, as soon as he dared, after grant- 
ing them a formal pardon, pronounced them rebels, and called 
on the Welsh to seize their castles. Roger was captured by 
the royal forces at Tutbury, tried, and condemned to be hanged, 
but was spared " inasmuch as the King had loved him much," 
and he had married the King's niece. He was, however, 
attainted, and died very shortly after, at Tutbury. His for- 
feited estates, at least the Gloucestershire lands, were returned 
by royal order to his widow, Blechingdon was allowed to 
revert to his brother, and Faukeshall was given to Hugh le 
Despencer. Roger left no sons. His daughter Elizabeth 
was married to Thomas, Lord Bardolf, her grandson being 
the Thomas, Lord Bardolf, who forfeited for rebellion. It 



3o8 The Descendants of Hugh Aniory. 

is sometimes said that there was another daughter, who 
was ancestress of Sir Walter Raleigh. The will of " Eliza- 
beth de Burgh, Ladie of Clare," dated September 15th, 
1355, leaves to Sir Nicholas Damare and four other persons, 
20 li., and to Sir William Cokin, lx^, "for praier to be made 
for Sr John de Burghe, Sr Theobald de Verdon and Sr Roger 
Damory my lordes." During her widowhood she had founded 
Clare College at Cambridge. 

Richard D'Amory was not drawn with his brother into 
rebellion. In 1323 the King calls him " Senescallus hospicii 
nostri," and sends him to besiege Wallingford Castle. He 
answers for the good behaviour of Matthew de Clyvedon, who 
has been an adherent of Lancaster, and for Walter de Pavely's 
payment of a fine. In 1325 he has to superintend the em- 
barcation at Plymouth of forces for the defence of Aquitaine, 
also to hear all felonies committed among, against, or by the 
troops. In 1326 he is justice of Chester and Commissioner of 
Array for that county; is entrusted by the King with the lands 
of the heir of John de Ferrers; and, about this time, arranges 
his daughter Agnes's marriage with " young Sir Rauffe de 
Verdon." The negotiations on the de Verdon side were made 
by the bridegroom's great-great-grandfather, " old Sir Rauffe," 
who is said to have lived to the age of one hundred and fifty. 
In 1327 Sir Richard D'Amory is addressed as Justice of North 
Wales. The new King, Edward III., allows him to impark 
his woods at Ubley, Somersetshire, and Plimpton Perry, 
Northants. In 1323 he was addressed as "Miles de Com. 
Oxon,"/.^., knight of the shire; from the last year of Edward II., 
for his many faithful services to the King, he has summons to 
Parliament as a baron, an honour continued until his death in 



Of Other Amory Fa^nilies. 309 

1 33 1. Leland says that he was buried in Bicester Priory, 
where were the tombs of many of his ancestors. In the 
Inquisitio post mortem his lands are named as Woodperry, one 
knight's fee ; Staunton St, John, forty-three acres ; the manor 
of Headington with the hundreds of Bullingdon and North- 
gate ; four virgates in Marsh Gibwyn, held for the lives of 
himself, his wife, and their son Richard ; Thornborough, 
granted for life to the De Lisles ; Bucknell manor, one knight's 
fee ; lands in Sexington worth forty shillings a year; Bleching- 
don, one knight's fee ; two parts of the vill of Godyndone 
(now Codington); Ubley ; Monkesham ; and Plumstead Perry. 
Bucknell he assigned as dowry to his wife, Margaret. 

6. The heir, his son Richard, is declared to be sixteen 
years of age. Richard, having made proof of his age and had 
livery of ail his lands, was knighted in 1336, is mentioned as 
King's Yeoman in 1337, and was in the expedition to Flanders 
in 1340. After this, in order to equip himself to follow the 
King into France, he assigned several of his manors for a time 
to Matthew de Clyvedon. Returning to England only when 
the King returned, he was considered to have done his duty so 
fully as to be excused, in 1362, from providing men-at-arms, 
etc. He had already impoverished himself, and was rapidly 
breaking up his father's estate. Ubley he seems to have sold 
outright to Matthew Peche, in 1343; Codington, Wood- 
perry, and Bucknell, he resigns to the King, in 1355, the year 
of his mother's death, keeping them only for his life; he 
makes a like arrangement with Sir John Chandos for Heading- 
ton, Bullingdon, and Northgate, and to Roger and Sibilla de 
Beauchamp parts with bailiwicks which had been granted to 
him in the royal forests of Exmoor, Selwood, Mendip, etc. 



3IO The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Blechingdon he sold to the Lady Elizabeth, widow of his 
uncle Roger, Thornborough to William Fitz Lawrence. 
Staunton St. John, Mr. Turner implies, went to the King at 
the same time with Bucknell ; Monkesham and Plimpton 
Perry were also alienated. The Chandos heirs were dividing 
the Headington property in 1374, which makes Richard's 
death a year or two earlier than is generally said. There is 
no evidence that he had heirs, or that he was ever married. 

It is possible that the Sir Nicholas Damare, named in 
Elizabeth de Clare's will, was Richard's brother. In the Par- 
liamentary History of Oxfordshire (1899) it is said that the 
King desires the Chancellor of Salisbury, May 27th, 1357, to 
assist Sir Nicholas Damory and Sir Thomas de Fulnetby, whom 
he sends to the Pope. On the i8th of April, 1365, payment 
is made out of the King's revenue (" Issues of the Exchequer," 
F. Devon, 1 837, p. 183), " To Sir Nicholas Dammory, knight, 
sent to Canterbury and Dover for the safe condudl of the body 
of John late King of France. . . . ^^6 „ 13 ,, 4." Nicholas 
Dammory was one of the knights of the shire for the county 
of Oxford, in 1361, 1365, 1366, and 1368. 

I have omitted to mention Walter Dammary, who in 1322 
and 1327 pays to the subsidy at Bucknell about two shillings, 
and in the latter year two shillings and sixpence at Chesterton. 
Sir Richard, as lord of Bucknell, was at the same time paying 
eight shillings and sixpence, or ten shillings ; for Woodperry, 
eight and tenpence ; for Blechesdon, three and fourpence. 
There was at this time a Walter Dammary, a priest. 

Kennett, at the year 1281, mentioning Sir Almeric de St. 
Amand, observes that his ancestors had given to the abbey of 



Of Other A7nory Fa7nilies. 311 

Godstow twenty-five acres in Blechesdon to sow yearly, and 
twenty -five to lie fallow : for which he refers to the " Monas- 
ticon," vol, i., p. 525. 

In 1304, Gilbert Amary de Keynsham, in Somertshire, had 
leave to bestow land at High Littleton in that county upofi 
Keynsham Abbey ; it seems that the next year the same land 
is owned by his son, Gilbert Ammory de Keynsham, junior. 

Also, in 1304, died John Dammary of Somersetshire, whose 
heir, John Dammary, was one year old. The property named 
is a house at Hurdecote, held of the Princess Mary ; eighteen 
acres at Somerton, of the Queen ; twenty-six acres at Sutton, 
and some at Werne, of William de Venouve ; five acres at 
Martock of Robert St. Clare; Saltmore ; Bodeclyve ; and a 
messuage and garden, with more than twenty-nine acres, at 
West Chinnock. 

1405. Richard Daumari, of Plymouth, Devonshire, has a 
grant of lands at Sutton. 

1408. Richard Amory, of Thorpe next Barkeby, Leices- 
tershire, grants a messuage and lands there to his son, John 
Amory. ("Calendar of Ancient Deeds," 1894, vol. i.) 

1441. Richard Daumere, of New Shoreham. 

1449. John Amerey, priest at Lilestock, Somersetshire. 
(Somerset Incumbents.) 

1463. Amory Hugoni Rex concedit officium Hostarii 
Cambi R^ infra Turrim London de tribus donas allocat pro 
radiis suis p. diem q** antiquibus fuit allocat tempore Edw. 3. 
(Close Rolls.) 

1483. The Churchwardens of St. John's, Glastonbury, buy 
" spikenail et cramptis ferreis " from John Amore. (" Somerset 
and Dorset Notes and Queries," vol iv., p. 235.) 



312 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

1488. The Earl of Oxford holds a Court of Admiralty at 
Rokesmylle, Somerset, in the presence of " Ricardo Amerik, 
commissionario nostro generali in Com. Som., Glouc, et 
Wore." (Joannes Glastoniensis, edited by Thomas Hearne, 
1726. Vol. ii., p. 345.) 

1503. The Abbot of Glastonbury, perambulating his 
estates and walking east from Brutessayshe, comes on the first 
day to a manor " formerly of Almery, Seneschal ot Bradley," 
held now by Richard Norys, armiger. (Joannes Glas- 
toniensis, vol. ii.) In 1 5 17 the Abbot's Terrier shows at 
Wrington and Burrington no Amory. 

15 16. Star-Chamber proceedings against James Amore, of 
Derbyshire, accused of coining. 

1518. John Amore, of Petersheys, Devon, brings suit 
against the sheriff who has seized his cattle. 

1524. William Amere and John Amere are assessed to the 
subsidy at Bishop's Nymet, Devon. 

1534. Spellesbury (Oxon.) Court Rolls: 24''' Odt. 25 
Hen. VIII. Chadlington. William Damoroy, Miller, fined for 
taking toll in excess. To this court comes Thomas Damoroy, 
son and heir of Robert Damoroy, deceased, and does fealty 
for a messuage called Coldron Mill. Is admitted a free 
tenant. 

1535. William Amory, of Dunster, Somerset, makes his 
will. 

1536 (or soon after) John Amerye, a monk of Myssenden, 
Bucks, has a grant of _^i 13 a year until he shall receive bene- 
fices of a like value. 

1537. The King (Henry VIII.) makes a purchase of 
wools through John Amory and his fellows, '■'■ c apt ores of the 



Of Other Am o ry Fajn Hies . 313 

wools in Co. Leicester." (" Register of Ralph of Shrews- 
bury," Somerset Record Society, 1896.) 

1540. Among the Hfe annuities granted to Anne of Cleves 
on her marriage with the King is one of ^Tio out of the farm 
of two parks, and a third part of the manor of Godyngton, 
Oxon. Payable by Ric. Damory and his heirs. (" Domestic 
State Papers, Henry VIII.," Master of the Rolls Series, 
vols, xii.-xv.) 

The notes following, down to the year 1650, were, with 
one or two exceptions, colled:ed by Mr. H. G. Somerby,^ 
who undertook, in 1863, a search of parish registers, in order 
to join our Bristol ancestor at some point with the Damer 
line of ascent to John Damerey of South Molton. Misled by 
the Dublin Pedigree, which has not Thomas, but an apocryphal 
Robert, as father of Thomas of Galy, Mr. Somerby copied the 
entries at Wrington in regard to our ancestors without recog- 
nizing them, and for thirty years in a like unconsciousness we 
possessed his copies. There may still be more than we see 
in the rest of them. 

1540. John Amore, of Glastonbury, makes his will. 

1542. Wills of James Amere als. Prier of Stogursey, 
Somerset ; of John Amerey of the same place, has a son 
Richard Amery, mentions Edmund Amery ; of John Amore, 
Ottery, Somerset : wife Joan, sons Henry, John, and Thomas, 
brothers Thomas and William, daughter Elizabeth, son-in- 
law, John Hobbs. 

1554, Robert Amory is Sheriff of Chester. Ormerod, 
" History of Cheshire," is quoted by Mr. Somerby as saying 
that this office was afterwards held by several Robert Amorys, 
and that in 1783 Thomas Amory was Mayor. These were 

s s 



314 ^^^ Descendants of Hugh Ajnory. 

all members of a family which, when Ormerod wrote, had 
for three centuries occupied Coghall Farm at Backford, near 
Chester. Mr. Turner says that their arms were different 
from those of the Oxon and Devon families. Jonathan 
Amery, son of Thomas Amery, of Chester, took the Dublin 
B.A. in 1707. 

1567, Odiober 6'^, Hugh Amerye marries Peternell Peirs 
at Bishop's Nymet. 

1567-8, February 4'^. Thomas, son of Hugh Amerye, is 
baptized at Bishop's Nymet. 

1 570. George Amorye marries Margery Ayer at Bishop's 
Nymet. 

1570. Robtus Amorye at Southover, Wells (parish of St. 
Cuthbert's), pays to the subsidy, on land of 20 shillings annual 
value, two shillings and eightpence. 

1579. Thomas and Giles Amory, brothers of Robert 
Amory, of Bishop's Nymet, deceased, are appointed adminis- 
trators of the said Robert's property. (Admon. Grants, 
Somerset House.) 

1587. William Amery, brother of Ralph Amery, of 
Lutterworth, Leicestershire, deceased, is appointed ad- 
ministrator. 

1588. Will of John Amerey, of Over Compton, Dorset; 
brothers Edward (deceased) and George. 

1 59 1. William Amorye, of South Molton, husbandman, 
makes his will. Only son Robert. (Only grandson, Robert, 
baptized 1620.) 

1 59 1. Anne, relidl of Ralph Amory, of the parish of St. 
Augustine next Paul's Wharf, London. 

1597. Ralph Amery, son of Richard Amery, same parish. 



Of Other Amory Families. 315 

Ralph Amery, son of Anne Amery, widow, of St. Alphege, 
Cripplegate. 

1593. Will of Richard Amorye, of South Molton. Son 
Robert, from whom Mr. T. C. Amory's correspondent, the 
Rev. Thomas Amory, Vicar of St. Teath, Cornwall, born 
1793, died s. p. 1878, believed himself to descend in the sixth 
generation. 

1593. Mary Nicholas alias Amory, daughter of Robert 
Amory, of Ilminster, Somerset, dies. 

Early in the seventeenth century there were in Somerset- 
shire, at Durston, John Amerey ; at Williton, William and 
Henry Amery ; at Hakeway, William and John ; at Bick- 
noller, Thomas and Philip. In Devonshire, beside large 
groups at South Molton and Bishop's Nymet, there was a 
John Amerie at Culm Stock ; at Abotisham, Henry Amery, a 
mariner, with sons Henry, Gabriel, and Salathiel, of whom 
Gabriel died at Dublin in 1629, leaving all he had to his 
brother Salathiel. 

At Stogumber, a village in Somersetshire west of the 
Quantock Hills, the register begins in 1559, but is deficient 
from 1602 to 1 6 10. Mr. Somerby notes from the baptisms: 
1595, Richard Amery, 1597, William Amery, 1 601, Thomas, 
son of Henry Amery; and from 1630 to 1644, nine children 
of William Amory; one is not named: the rest are Richard, 
Christopher, Henry, John, Rachel, Hugh, John, Joan. 

From the burials : 1600, the wife of Henry Amery ; 1631, 
Henry Amery; 1639, John Amery; 1644, Richard Amery, 
The will of Henry Amerie of Stogumber, Somerset, 163 1, 
names his wife Alice, daughters Elizabeth Hills and Alice 
Parsons; sons, Richard, Henry, John, William. The will of 



3i6 T'he Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Richard Ammery of Stogumber, clothier, made 1639, proved 
1644, mentions " my mother AHce Ammery," sisters EUzabeth 
Hills and Alice Parsons; brothers William (with his three 
children, John, Henry, William), Henry, and Hugh. " I doe 
give unto my brother Hugh Ammery ^40 ... if the sayd 
Hugh do come again into this countrey within seaven years 
and demand the same of my executors." 

In regard to Mrs. O'Connor's " Emorys :" Apart from 
Bunratty and his son, Thomas Amory of Boston had no rela- 
tions to be called Emory or Amory, unless it were his four 
second cousins, John, Hugh, Robert, and William, baptised at 
Wrington, but not again found in the records there. It is 
likely enough that they moved to Bristol ; the city books have 
not been searched for them. At Brislington, although no 
present inhabitant has the name, an Emory is in the register 
in 1686, and the Ordnance maps still mark " Emery's Farm." 
The "Bristol Diredlory " for 1895 contains twenty-seven 
Emerys. Before the end of the seventeenth century Emory 
and Emery appear in the Wrington books, but are quite dis- 
tinft from our relations, and have an unfamiliar set of Christian 
names, Isaac, Nathaniel, Joseph, etc. 

There are three Amorys now at Clifton. Mr. James H. 
Amory, living there about thirty years ago, had a correspond- 
ence on genealogy with Mr. T. C. Amory, in which he states 
that his father, a naval officer, was named Robert, and had 
brothers Richard, Walter, and James. Richard emigrated 
about 1750, and was never heard of again. Their tradition 
was that they had for many generations lived on the borders 
of Devon and Somerset, but they had no records. 

We have a half-sheet of writing in three paragraphs, of 



Of Other Amory Families. 317 

which the last is in a hand unknown to me ; the first two are 
written by Thomas Amory, who married Elizabeth Coffin : 

1. " ' You'l let me know if you have heard of or know 
one Captain John Amory who lives on the Continent of 
America or one of its Isles. I had an account of his living in 
New York about seven years since, but no certainty that I 
could rely on, he being an only Brother of mine that left this 
Kingdom about twenty years since. 

" ' Mary Hawkesworth.' 
Dated Ennis in Ireland." 

2. " Mr. Smith, please to enquire concerning the above 
person and family and show him this extraft — Yours Tho. 
Amory." 

3. " Capt° John Amory died in 1759, has left a son who 
is marry'd and lives at Albany. About 18 years of Age — 
nam'd John, is in no Business. The Girl he marryed is of a 
good Family but in Low circumstances." 

Savage notices William Amory at Deerfield, Massachusetts, 
in 1695, and Simon Amory, a freeman of Boston, where he 
died in 1677. His wife's name was Mary. There is nothing 
to conned him with Simon Amory of Taunton, whom our 
ancestor met in 1720. 

An Amory family at St. Kitts trace to William Amory 
born in that island in 1756, who in 1775 married at New 
York, Anna Catherine Roosevelt. Benjamin Amory the 
younger, of St. Kitts and Tavistock Street, Bedford Square, 
London, is mentioned in Oliver's "History of Antigua," vol. ii., 
p. 80, as buying, in 1803, ^ St. Kitts' plantation for _^ 14,000. 



3i8 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

In 1880 Mr. T. C. Amory had correspondents in Wis- 
consin and New York, whose ancestor, Colonel John Amory, 
was born in Ireland, lived at Dublin and Bristol, sailed from 
Liverpool for Nova Scotia in 1780, with his only son, James 
(aged twelve), had a grant of land in Canada, was in New 
York before the departure of the English troops in 1783, and 
remained there for the rest of his life. James remembered his 
grandfather's house in College Green, Dublin. 

The Rev. Dr. Morse, of Charlestovi^n, Massachusetts 
(according to a letter received by Mr. T. C. Amory, in 1859, 
signed Richard C. Morse), held a correspondence on Theo- 
logical subjects with a " Mr. James Amory " in 1 790-1. 

As to possible ancestors of Hugh Amory — Mr. Somerby's 
copies from Bishop's Nymet give no second record of Hugh 
Amerye and Peternell Peirs, married in 1567, nor of Thomas, 
son of Hugh Amerye, baptized in 1568. Suppose that Hugh 
and Peternell moved into another parish, had more sons and 
named one of them Hugh ; and that such Hugh, becoming 
Agnes Young's third husband before he was thirty-four, died 
at Wrington in 1626. This gratuitous hypothesis could be 
tested by a stri6l search of the books at Bishop's Nymet and 
at Loxton. If Agnes married out of the latter parish, her 
husband's home would be named in the register, leading up 
by her second and third marriages to where Hugh of Wring- 
ton formerly lived. 



m 


^^^ 


s 


^^^^ 



A LIST OF AUTHORITIES. 



CHAPTER I. 

Page I. Reference (i). Hugh Amory living at Wrington, 1605. 
Parish Register, Wrington. (2.) Assessed to the Benevolence of 
1622. "In the Rolls Office," Letter from H. G. Somerby, July 9, 
1864, T. C.A. 

Page 2. (3.) In two rolls for the subsidy of 1621. Somerset 
Subsidies, Subsidy Room, Record Office. (4.) Called "yeoman." 
Prentice Book, September 2, 1624, Council House, Bristol. (5.) 
" A Robert Amory at Burrington." Letter from H. G. Somerby, 
May 12, 1865. T. C. A. 

P^S^ 3- (6-) Agnes Amory pays to a subsidy, 1628. Somerset 
Subsidies, Subsidy Room, Record Office. (7.) Chancery Petition of 
Agnes Aniery, June 18, 1632. " Chancery Proceedings, Record 
Office;" report from Mr. W. H. Turner, about 1873. T. C. A. 
(8.) A Loxton Subsidy-roll, 1550, 1597. Somerset Subsidies, Subsidy 
Room, Record Office. (9.) Agnes Amory's Will, proved 1640. 
Original, Distrid Registry, Wells. 

Page y. (10.) The Rev. Samuel Crooke. Dicftionary of National 
Biography. — Life and Death of Samuel Crooke, by W. G., 1661. — 
Brook's Lives of the Puritans, 18 13. — Crooke, redtor of Wrington, by 
E. Greene, in Proceedings of the Bath Field Club, 1874. — Diocese of 
Bath and Wells, by the Rev. W. Hunt, 1885. (11.) The building 
of pews. Churchwarden's Accounts, 1634- 1675, Wrington. 



320 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Page 8. (i2.) Henry Backwell on the roll of the trained band. 
Note-book of John Locke, father of the philosopher, 1 629-1655, 
British Museum, Addit. MSS., No. 28273. {^3-) John Amory 
accused as a rebel. Churchwardens' Accounts, 1634-167 5, Wring- 
ton. See Rushworth, vi. 715. (14-) John Amory reported as "a 
fitting Elder." The County of Somerset Divided, Bodleian Library, 
Gough, Somerset, i Pamph. 80. (15.) Two Somerset men suspeded, 
1664. Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 1663- 1664, by M. A. 
Everett Green, pp. 590, 598, 645. (16.) John Amory's death in 
1 68 1-2 (erroneously given in the text as 1680-1). Parish Register, 
Wrington. (17.) A property called " Brean's." Churchwardens' 
Accounts, 1 634-1 675, and Redor's Tithe-book (see below), Wrington. 
(18.) The Redtor's Tithe-book. Small volume marked " Dr. Powell, 
1678," Wrington. The Rev. John Powell was Reftor, 1675- 168 1. 

Page 9. (19.) Matthew Amory a scrivener. Prentice Book, 
Sept. 29, 1655, Council House, Bristol. (20.) Matthew Amory, no 
m. reg'd., died 1681 (January, 168 1-2), Parish Register, Wrington. 
(21.) John Amory, junior, died 17 19. Parish Register, Wrington. 
(22.) John Amory, junior, married Elizabeth Talbot by 1653. 
Chancery Bills and Answers before 1714 : R- if Amory and Talbott 
1653; R ^1 Amory and Talbott, 1653. Legal Search Room, 
Record Office. (23.) John and Elizabeth Amory left a daughter and 
four sons. Parish Register, Wrington. 



CHAPTER n. 

Page 10. (24.) Thomas Amory apprenticed at sixteen. Prentice 
Book, Sept. 2, 1624, Council House, Bristol. (25.) Robert Elliott, 
Sheriff of Bristol, 1633. The Mayor's Calendar, Council House, 
Bristol. (26.) Robert Elliott, Churchwarden of St. Nicholas. Church- 
wardens' Accounts, 1629-1662, St. Nicholas' Church, Bristol. (27.) 
Robert Elliott and his wife died, 1643. Parish Register, St. 



A List of Authorities. 321 

Nicholas, Bristol. (28.) Thomas Amory takes up his freedom, 
1630-31. Burgess Book, March 15, 1 630-1, Council House, Bristol. 

Page II. (29.) Marries Ann Elliott, Nov. 7, 1631. Parish 
Register, St. Nicholas, Bristol. (30.) Becomes a Merchant Venturer, 
1638. Earliest volume of the Company's Records, Merchants' Hall, 
Bristol. 

Page 12. (31.) Contributes to the citizens' loan to Colonel 
Fiennes. Manuscript notes in Evans's Chronological History of 
Bristol, published 1824, Bristol Museum and Library. (32.) Is one 
of the ten Assistants of the Merchant Venturers. Earliest volume of 
Records, Merchants' Hall, Bristol. {Z2>-) Sidesman at St. Nicholas. 
Churchwardens' Accounts, St. Nicholas, Bristol. 

Page 12- (34.) Eledled to the Common Council. Minutesofthe 
Council, Council House, Bristol. (35.) Prince Rupert's vindication. 
Evans. (36.) Thomas Amory is one of the two Wardens of the 
Merchant Venturers. Earliest volume of the Company's Records, 
Merchants' Hall, Bristol. 

Page 14. (37.) Is among the creditors of a compounding royalist. 
Calendar of State Papers, Domestic : Royalist Composition Papers, 
Record Office or British Museum. (38.) Takes a lease at Brislington. 
Chancery Bills and Answers before 17 14 : Hamilton j\ Amory and 
Langton ; Hamilton ^^ Amory and Earle, Legal Search Room, 
Record Office, (39.) Takes Parphey's holding there. Chancery Bills 
and Answers as in Reference 38. (Note: On page 94 the reference 
"39" is an error: it should be 76.) (40.) Takes Cottrell's holding. 
Chancery Depositions before 1714 : R. 954, Amory and Tucker; R. 
955, R. 1 02 1, M. 284, Amory and Mathen, Legal Search Room, 
Record Office. There is no Ref. 41. (42.) His daughter, Elizabeth, 
married by 1667. This is an inference from her being named in her 
brother's will in 1666, but not in the codicil in 1667, although she was 
living in 1704. Will of Thomas Amory of Galy; parchment copy 
made 1667. T. C. A. — Also another copy in Prerogative Will Book, 
Public Record Office, Dublin. (43.) Children baptized at St. Nicholas. 
Parish Register, St. Nicholas, Bristol. 

T T 



322 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Page 15. (44.) John Amory deposes in 1704. See above, Ref. 
40. (45.) Thomas Amory, Sheriff of Bristol, 1652. Minutes of the 
Council. — The Mayors' Calendar. Council House, Bristol. 

Page 16. (46.) Mr. Towgood joined in a plot. Diftionary of 
National Biography, article on Richard Towgood. — Walker's Suffer- 
ings of the Clergy, ii., 4. — Evans. (47.) A Presbyterian Vicar of St. 
Nicholas. Didtionary of National Biography, article on Constantine 
Jessop.— Churchwardens' Accounts, St. Nicholas. (48.) Another 
Presbyterian. Churchwardens' Accounts, St. Nicholas. — Evans. — 
See also " Satan Inthroned " and other writings of the Rev. Ralph 
Farmer in the Bodleian Library. 

Page 17. (490 Thomas Amory accompt current with John 
Bowen. Chancery Bills and Answers before 1714: Bridges 386, 
Amory and Bowen; Bridges 387, Amory and Porrimont, Legal 
Search Room, Record Office. (50.) Colour-works. See above, 
Ref. 40. 

Page 18. (51.) " Pauperism," says a modern writer. Social 
Life in England from the Restoration to the Revolution, by 
W, C. Sydney, London, 1892. (52.) Thomas Amory assigned 
the lease. See above, Ref. 38. (53-) Thomas Amory of Galy 
called "merchant." Will of Patrick Fitzmaurice, 19th Baron 
Kerry of Lixnaw, 1660, Parchment, Public Record Office, Dublin. 
(54.) Thomas of Galy's brother Hugh called " merchant." Grant of 
Administration on the goods of Hugh Amory, 1661, Public Record 
Office, Dublin. 

Page 19. (55-) Leases and surrenders from his father. See 
above, Ref. 38. (56.) Eledion of a Keeper of the Backhall. 
Minutes of the Council, 1658, Council House, Bristol. (57.) The 
Apprentices of Bristol, 1659-60. Evans. (58.) Oath of Allegiance 
and Supremacy. Minutes of the Council, September 14, 1660, 
Council House, Bristol. 

Page 20. (59.) Evidence before the Court of Chancery, 1689. 
Ref. 40. 



A Liist of Authorities. 323 



CHAPTER III. 

T'age 23. {(iO.^ Lord Kerry names six trustees. Ref. 53. 
(61.) Thomas of Galy mortgages the Brislington property. Ref. 38. 

Page 24. (62.) Member for Ardfert. Foster's Lists of the Irish 
Parliament. (63.) Administers his brother Hugh's estate. Ref. 54. 
(64.) Recommended to Ormond by the Oueen. Carte Papers in 
Bodleian Library, vol. xliii., p. 90, copied by Mr. W. H. Turner. 
T. C. A. (65.) A grant of Ballyboneene. Paper laid between the 
leaves of a manuscript volume, " Colleftanea Genealogica, 2nd Series, 
Woods, V. Betham," College of Arms, Dublin. {(i(i-) Suggests fire- 
ships. Carte Papers, vol. xxxv., p. 157, copied by W. H. Turner. 
T. C. A. (67.) Will made in August, 1666. Parchment copy made 
in 1667. T. C. A. — Another copy in Prerogative Will Book, Public 
Record Office, Dublin. (68.) Robert Elliott, junior, unsuccessful 
planter in Antigua. History of Antigua, by Vere Langford Oliver, 
London, 1894, vol. i., p. 238. 

Page 25. (69.) Death before 1704 of Ann (Elliott) Amory, and 
of her son Henry. Ref. 40. (70.) John and Robert Amory at 
Galway. Ref. 40. History of Galway, by James Hardiman, i 820. — 
Statute Book of the Town of Galway, Historical Manuscripts Com- 
mission. (71.) Gilbert's Calendar of Ancient Records of Dublin, 
1898, vol. vi. — History of Dublin, by Warburton, Whitelaw, and 
Walsh, 1818. — Certified copy of the deed of 1675. T. C. A. 

Page 26. (72.) Will of David Houston. Copy in Prerogative 
Will Book, Public Record Office, Dublin. (73.) Marriage Licence, 
Amory et Houston, 1677, Dublin Grants, Public Record Office, 
Dublin, (74.) A letter written fifty years later, by Thomas Amory 
of Bunratty, June 21, 1722. Ref I38^ E. 

Page 27. (75.) St Andrew's Registers, 1670- 1690, Public 
Record Office, Dublin. (76.) Record by our ancestor who settled in 
Boston. Type-written copy sent to me in 1897 by Mr. G. T. Dexter 



3^4 "The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

(who says that the original is in " a blank book containing no other 
writing," owned by Miss Mary L. Amory, grand-daughter of the first 
Thomas Coffin Amory). T. C. A. — Note. On page 94 the reference 
for this record is given by mistake as "39," instead of 76. 

Page 2S. (77.) Robert left Galway for the West Indies. Ref. 40. 
(78.) Rebecca Amory in the register of a Church in Barbadoes. 
Vol. iv., p. 159, of ten manuscript volumes of " Amory Ana," col- 
leded by Mr. T. C. Amory. T. C. A. (79.) Thomas is said by his 
widow — Paper book containing copies of documents probably colle6led 
in 1844 for Mr. James Trecothick Austin. One document is this 
account of her husband by Rebecca (Holmes) Amory, 1728. T. C. A. 
(80.) Letter from the Lords Proprietors, November 8, 1691. 
Colonial Records of North Carohna, by William Saunders, vol. i., 
?• 383. 

Page 29. (81.) Dublin Grants: Marriage, Ramsay et Houston; 
Admons., Humphrey Houston, Rebecca Amory, Pub. Rec. Off., 
Dublin. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Page 2^. (82.) The Lords Proprietors' instrudlions to Governor 
Ludwell. Ref. 80. (83.) First American Bill of Rights. So called 
in McCrady's " History of South Carolina under the Proprietary 
Government," 1897, p. 239 et seg. 

Page 32. (84.) Address to the Lords Proprietors on Archdale's 
return to England. " Amory Ana," vol. iii., p. 47 (where it is said 
to be copied from "The History of North Carolina, 18 12, vol. i., 
p. 270"). T. C. A. 

P^S^ 33- (^5-) Proprietors' record of grants of land. Manu- 
script volume, " P. R. O., 23 Carolina," Subsidy Room, Record Office. 
(86.) Will of Jonathan Amory, made 1697, proved 1699. Original 
destroyed in the burning of Columbia, 1865. Copy made after 1850. 
T. C. A. Copy brought from Carolina by Thomas Amory, 1720. E. 

Page 34. (87.) (Reference omitted in text.) Sarah Amory, an 



A List of Authorities. 325 

infant, the only daughter living. This and the fads on the same page 
about Joseph Croskeys and his wife Margaret are taken from a paper 
of copies from the Provincial records in Carolina, made by Mr. Wil- 
mot G. de Saussure, of Charleston, and kindly sent by him to Mr. 
T. C. Amory, at the request of Miss Margaret Deas Huger, whose 
father was a great-great-grandson of Sarah Amory and Arthur Middle- 
ton. T. C. A. 

P'^K^ 35- (SS-) The Governor and Council write of a "mortal 
distemper," 1699. " Lists and Abstrads of Papers in the State Paper 
Office, London, relating to South Carolina: done under authority for 
the Historical Society of South Carolina, 1857," 

Page 36. (89.) Rhett and Trott, the most distinguished Carol- 
inians of their day. Ramsey, History of South Carolina, 1809. — 
See also Dalcho, History of the Church in South Carolina, 1820. — 
South Carolina Historical Society, as above, 1857. — Fiske, Old Vir- 
ginia and her Neighbours, 1897. — McCrady, South Carolina under 
Proprietary and under Royal Government, 1897, - yoh. (90.) Trott 
and his wife witness Martha Amory 's will. As in Reference 86. 

P^g^ 31- (91-) A(5t of Assembly enabling Mrs. Rhett to sell. 
Copies, E. and T. C. A. (92.) Mrs. Rhett's account, rendered 1707. 
Copy owned by Thomas Amory in 1720. T. C. A. 

Page 2"^. (93.) Dr. Joseph Johnson, 1851. " Traditions of the 
Revolution in South Carolina." 

P^S^ 39- (94-) Public Library at Charleston. Dalcho. — 
McCrady. 



CHAPTER V. 

Page 42. (95.) Ann Ramsey and her husband write. Their 
letters partly E., partly T. C. A, (96.) Lucy, daughter of 
Thomas Amory, of Galy, died unmarried. Ref. 40. Also Pedigree 
at College of Arms, Dublin; copy by Sir J. B. Burke. T. C, A. 
(97.) Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Amory of Galy, married. 



326 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

(i) Hart, (2) Croker, Dublin pedigree as above ; copy, T. C. A. 
Letter from Julia O'Connor, November 5, 1730; copy in paper book 
(Ref. 79), T. C. A. (98.) Mary O'Connor went with her father to 
France, and became a nun ; Julia married her cousin. " Old Kerry 
Records," by Miss Hickson. (99-) Bunratty at Trinity College. 
The College Records, Dublin. Also official copy, 1898. T. C. A. 
(100.) Allowed to adl as executor, 1681. Admon. Grants, Public 
Record Office, Dublin. (loi.) Exchequer decree, 1683. Official 
copy. T. C. A. 

Page 0^2- (102.) Middle Temple, 1683. Copy of record fur- 
lished in 1898 by the Treasurer of the Middle Temple. T. C. A. 
'103.) Register to the second Irish Forfeitures Commission, 1700. 
Diary of Narcissus Luttrell.^ — Also memorandum in unknown hand- 
writing : " T. Amory is the name signed to the correspondence of 
the Forfeited Estates Commission at Chichester House." T. C. A. 
(104.) Robert Amory lands at Galway, 1702. Ref. 40. (105.) Buys 
some of the Clare lands. Letter from Julia O'Connor, Ref 97. 
T. C. A. (106.) Deeds of sale, 1704-1709. Certified copies of 
seven deeds of sale of the Clare lands. These copies, with other 
papers relating to descendants of Thomas of Galy, were bought by 
Mr. T. C. Amory about 1884, through Mr. George C. Mahon, from 
Mr. Philip Dwyer, who colleded them in Ireland. T. C. A. See 
also letter from Counsellor Leeson, Ref. 143. T. C. A. (107,) 
Bunratty 's settlement of his estate, 1726. Paper book, Ref. 79. 
T. C. A. 

Page ^jf.. (108.) Mrs. Luttrell, 1703. Rawlinson MSS., Bod- 
leian Library, A. 253, f. Ig^, copy by W. H. Turner. T. C. A. 
(109.) Copy of Robert Amory 's will, sent from Antigua, 17 12. Public 
Record Office, Dublin. — See also Oliver's History of Antigua, vol. ii., 
pp. 2^, 122, 259, 367. (no.) Purchase of Bunratty Castle, 1712. 
Letter from Captain Richard Studdert, Dwyer papers, Ref. 106. 
T. C. A. Dublin pedigree, Ref 96. T. C. A. See Carlyle's Crom- 
well, Letter xcvii., 1649. 

Page 45. (ill-) Town-house in King Street, North Dublin. 



A List of Authorities. 327 

Will of Thomas Amory of Bunratty, paper book, Ref. 79. T. C. A. 
(112.) Elizabeth Durroy, 1717. Dublin pedigree, Ref 96. T.C. A. 
(113.) Suit of a Bristol merchant, 17 19. " The case of John Cary, 
Esq., London, 17 19," British Museum. (114.) Thomas Amy's 
history. McCrady, " South Carohna under the Proprietary Govern- 
ment," p. 459. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Page 47. (115.) Thomas Amory 's pocket-book, 1699. E. 
(116.) Letter from Nicholas Oursel, April 30, 1706. E. 

Page ^^. (117.) Letter from Mrs. Rhett, Nov. 20, 1706. E. 

Page 49. (118.) Letter-Books of Thomas Amory, 5 vols., 171 1- 
1714 and 1717-1728. E. 



' CHAPTER Vn. 

Page 66. (119.) Letters from Arthur Middleton, 1719. E. 

Page 6j. (120.) From Colonel Rhett, May 26, I 7 19. E. • ; 

Page ^o. (121.) From Bunratty, 0(5lober 7, 1719. E. 

Page 73. (122.) Power of attorney from Thomas Amory to 
Arthur Middleton and others, 1720. T. C. A. 

Page -16. (123.) The King had received an address from Carolina, 
17 17. In a packet of original letters, "P. R. O., 620 Carolina, 1699- 
1724," Record Office, (124.) Colonel Rhett accused. Ref 123. 

Page 77. (125.) The Assembly's address to Governor Johnson, 
December 21, 17 19. Carroll, Historical CoUedions of South Caro- 
lina, 1836. 

Page 78. (126.) Letter from Francis Holmes, May 17, 
1 72 1. E. 

Pages 89 and 95. (127.) Captain Holmes's Wharf and Amory's 
Wharf. Maps of Boston in 17 14 and 1722, in "History of Boston," 
by S. G. Drake. 



328 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Page 80. (128.) Letter from Arthur Middleton, June 9, 

1721. E. 

Page Si. (129.) Ditto, March 9, 1 72 1 -2. E. 

Page 82. (130.) Subscribing for the "New England Courant," 

1722. Account-book of Thomas Amory. E. (13 1-) Letter from 
Arthur Middleton, April 16, 1722. E. 

Page 2:^. (132.) Ditto, July 26, 1722. E. (133.) From Godin 
& Co., May 25, 1722. E. 

Page 85. (134-) A tradition at Charleston. Ref. 93. Also 
letters from Dr. Joseph Johnson, 1852; from Mr. W. G. de Saussure, 
1 885, and from Mr. W. G. Whiiden, 1 893. T. C. A. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Page 87. (135.) Inventory of Merchandise, etc., Odober 15, 
1720. T. C. A. 

Page 89. (136.) Depence to Mrs. Holmes, 1719. Account- 
book. E. 

Page (^i. (137.) Letter from Francis Holmes to his daughter, 
1720. E. 

Page 98. (138.) From Ann Ramsey, 1722. E. 

Page 100. (138''.) From Thomas of Bunratty, June 21, 1722. E. 

Page 102. (139.) From Isaac Holmes, July 29, 1728. E. 

Page 103. (140.) Inventory of Thomas Amory's property, 1728, 
Suffolk Probate Records, vol. xxiii., p. 165, copied in " Amory 
Ana," vol. i., p. 267. T. C. A. (141.) Final account rendered by 
the executrix, 1743. Suffolk Probate Records, vol. xxxvi., p. 17, 
noted in one of five 8 by 14-inch MS. vols. T. C. A. (142.) Letters 
from John Amory, July 17, 1728 ; copy in paper book, Ref. 79. 
From Ann Ramsey, August 8, 1728. T. C. A. From Mrs. Amory 
of Bunratty, August 13, 1728. E. 

Page 104, (143 ) Entail cut off in legal form, 1726. Letter 



A List of Authorities. .29 

from <' Counsellor " William Leeson, Dublin, to his old friend Robert 
Auchmuty, Boston, February 4, 1729 T C A " J^ooert 

.n^^Z^^'\^Ti ^-^^1^-^ -d' trouble. Correspondence, 
1728-1734. Partly E., partly T. C. A 

.nl'^'Tt X^'^^WT ^"^ "^^^""^^^ ^"^"--y °f Rathlahine, 
Ref 7 /• ^- "^^ ^''^^•^ ^'■""^ J"''^ O'Connor, November 5, 1730. 

Page 107. (147.) Ditto. May ir, ,7.1 T C A r, Q ^ 

From Ann Ramsey, Aug 2 ,7,. T C 4 /t;, / "^ ^^ 

X / s , •'^' "&• ^> '/j4- i.L. a. (There is no reference 

H9.) 050.) Author of ''John Buncle/' >« National Didion y of 
Biography, article on Thomas Amory "lonary of 

Page 108 C151O Sons of Robert Amory of Wakefield 
" Gentleman's Magazine," vol. lix. vvaKetield. 

CHAPTER IX. 

181 T r A . °'' "'"■"''■''' ^^'^^ "Amory Ana," vol. iv., 

181. T. C. A. (153.) Described in deeds. TCA 

r.rh '^' ' '\ ^'J^-^ ^°"' °'' ^^''"'^'" ^"d Anne Coffin. " Coffin 

partne:sT;cv ' D \'> tP£'"°"' '^97- (155-) J- and J. Amory 
partners, i 757. Drake s " History of Boston," p. 642. 

T . r ^'i:, ^^^^'^ Undated memorandum. T. C A riC7^ 
Letter from Thomas Amory. TCA 

T C^T '/'■ .^i^V ^°Py '°^" '*^"^'- ^-'^ Limerick, X750 
iv.', 187 T.'c'i ' ''''°"" '' '^" '''"^°"'- "Amory Ana," 

drauehf ' t' c'T'^ .^f T ^" ^'^^"^^ Amory, .769. Rough 
1760 T r T" ; /\ n^ ^'■°'" ^- ^- ^"«°"' November 28, 
TCA ^ '-^ ^"" "^''^"^ 'P'g'^^' August 15, X769: 

Ref^7T '"■ ^'^^-^ "^'"^ ^'•°'" °"^^-' '844. See above, 



u u 



330 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Page 1 1 6. (164.) Legal advice of Mr. J. T. Austin. Ref. 79 
and " Amory Ana," vol. iv., p. 149. T. C. A. 

Page 118. (165.) Mr. T, C, Amory. MS. book, 1850; and his 
journal, May 29, 1832. T. C. A. 

Page 119. (166.) "Just below the Towne House." Drake, 
" History of Boston," p. 642. (167.) Mr. S. A. Drake, " Landmarks 
of Old Boston." 

Page 120. (168.) John Amory's house. "Amory Ana," vol. v., 
p. \%-i^etseq. (169.) Memorial to the General Court, 1760. Drake, 
" History of Boston." 

Page 121. (170.) Destrudion of Hutchinson's house, August 
26, 1765. Hosmer, Life of Thomas Hutchinson, 1896. 

Page 123. (171-) Letter-Books of Jonathan and John Amory, 
1765-1786. E. 



CHAPTER X. 

Page 127. (172.) Tradition in regard to letters of J. and J. 
Amory, 1765. " Amory Ana," vol. vi., pp. 42-158. (173.) Evidence 
of London merchants. Journal of the House of Commons, February 
and March, 1766. (174.) Twenty-three petitions in a fortnight. 
Journal of the House of Commons, January, 1766, 

Page 141. (175.) Bill for a punch-strainer, 1767. T. C. A. 

Page 142. (176.) Payne and Newell on Town Committees. 
Drake, History of Boston. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Page 163. (177.) Bill for portrait, 1769. T. C. A. (178.) 
Letter by John Hancock, November, 1769. "John Hancock's 
Letter-Book," by Abram English Brown, printed in Boston Transcript, 
January, 1898. 



A List of Authorities. 331 

Page 167. (179.) Letter from Dr. Samuel Cooper, May 12, 
1770. T. C. A. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Page i8i. (180.) Nathaniel Coffin and his sons 7\ddressers of 
Hutchinson, May, 1774. Sabine, "American Loyalists." 

Page 203, (181.) Thomas Amory, William Coffin junior, and 
Nathaniel Coffin, Addressers of General Gage, 1775. Sabine. (182.) 
William Coffin died in June, 1775, his wife Anne (Holmes) in 
August. Letters of Administration. T. C. A. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Page 208. (iSj.) Newell's request, March 8, 1776. "Amory 
Ana," vol. iii., p. 128. T. C. A. 

Page 209. (184.) John Coffin's part in saving Quebec and 
Canada, January ist, 1776. " Life of General John Coffin," by H. E. 
Coffin; Reading, Berks, 1880. — Letter from W. F. Coffin, Montreal, 
1859. T. C. A. 

Page 216. (185.) Tablet in St. Lawrence Jewry, April i i, 1777. 
copy by Mr. H. G. Somerby, 1865. T. C. A. The tablet was again 
seen, and the inscription kindly copied for us, in 1898, by the Rev. E. 
Winchester Donald, D.D., Reftor of Trinity Church, Boston. 

Page 217. (186.) Letter from John Coffin, November 3, 1779. 
T. C. A. 

Page 239. (187.) Petition of John Amory, 1783. "Amory 
Ana," vol. ii., p. 125 (figures in ink). T. C. A. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Page 248. (i8S.) Letter from John Coffin, March 7, 1785. 
T. C. A. 



332 "The Desce7tdants of Hugh Amory. 

Page 250. (189.) From Mrs. Thomas Amory, November 21, 
1786. T. C. A. (190.) From John Coffin, February, 1787. T. C. A. 

Page 251. (191.) From a Bostonian — Joshua Upham, 1788. 
T. C. A. (192.) William Amory in Boston, 1790. Account 
rendered, 1795, by Aaron Dexter and Jonathan Amory tertius, as 
guardians of William Amory. T. C. A. 

Page 252. (193.) Letter from Jonathan Amory tertius, August 
10, 1797. T. C. A. (194.) From William Deblois, August 11, 
1797- T. C. A. 

Page 255. {^^S-) Transferred his allegiance. Manuscript 
account of William Amory. T. C. A. 

Pagezc^G--]. (196.) Letter of Commodore Talbot, May 12, 1800. 
Copy in " Amory Ana," vol. iii., p. 1 13. T. C. A. 

Pageic^%. (197.) From Sir Isaac Coffin, 1827. T. C. A. (198.) 
Ditto, I 8 17. T. C. A. (199.) Story of the Nantucket Schooner. 
This is told, if I am not mistaken, in the " Life of General John Coffin," 
which I have not just now at hand. See Ref. 184. A letter from Mr. 
Allen Coffin, dated Nantucket, January 7, 1886, alludes to it: "Sir 
Isaac . . . in reply to a question as to how much it cost him to found 
that school in Nantucket : ' It cost me an earldom, sir.' He was not 
made a peer of the realm because the Duke of Wellington thought his 
loyalty compromised by the establishment of a Yankee school for 
sailors." T. C. A. 

CorreElion^ p. 258. Since this page was printed I have met with 
a letter signed Emma F. Ware, and dated Milton, July 31, 1888, 
giving extracts from the diary of John Rowe : " ' Sept. i, 1772. I 
went to Mr. Inman's to see my dear Sukey Inman married to Captain 
John Linzee. The Revd. Mr. Walter performed the Ceremony. 
Present, Mr. Inman, Mrs. Inman, George, Sukey, and Sally Inman, 
the Revd. Mr. Walter, Mrs. Walter, the Revd. Mr. Sargeant, Capt. 
Linzee, Mr. Robt. Gould, Mrs. Gould, John Inman, George Inman, 
Miss Polly and Miss Anna Murray, Miss Howard, Miss Hannah 
Speakman, myself and Mrs. Rowe.' This shows," the letter continues, 



A List of Authorities. 33 



j>)^ 



" that Captain Linzee was married at Mr. Inman's and not at Mr. 
Rowe's house. Also it is scarcely credible that if so distinguished a 
guest as Captain Hood had been present Mr. Rowe should have 
omitted to mention it, especially as he is so particular as to enumerate 
the bride and groom among the guests. See N. E. Hist. Gen. Register 
XXV. 46." T. C. A. 

Page 259. (200.) Obligations to English creditors. A manuscript 
in probably a copyist's hand, giving a sketch of the lives of the three 
brothers, says of Jonathan and John : " At the commencement of the 
war the house owed their English creditors thirty thousand pounds 
sterling \thirty is erased and twenty-three substituted for it in Mr. T. C. 
Amory's writing] . . . their whole debt was remitted within three 
years." These last words, within three years, are erased, Mr. Amory 
putting \ns,r.ta.6. forthwith. T. C. A. See, however, page 232, Letter 
CLXXI., July 16, 1782. (201.) Concert Hall, Drake, " History of 
Boston," p. 641. (202.) Manuscript as in Ref. 200. T. C. A. 

Page ^6o. (203.) Prince Edward. Fragment of writing without 
date or signature, describing Nancy Geyer's as " my mother's " 
wedding, and calling Mr. Geyer " my grandfather." T. C. A. (204.) 
Marriage notice, 1793. Quoted by C. D. Hazen : "The French 
Revolution and American Opinion." (205.) Nathaniel Amory im- 
prisoned, 1805. Incomplete manuscript account of him by Mr. T. C, 
Amory. It says that the imprisonment lasted two months. T. C. A. 
— I have been told that by the tinie he was released his hair had turned 
white. 

Page i6\. (206.) Letter from Nathaniel Amory, May 7, 1805. 
T. C. A. 

Page 284. (-107,) Letters from W. H. Turner, 1872- 1875. 
T. C. A. 




NOTES. 



Chapter I. J-Vrington, 1605-17 19. 

Page 3. " Lived in Loxton." I have not seen the Loxton 
register. It begins in 1558. 

Page 4. " My daughter-in-law, Mary Amory." Mary Willett — 
there are Willetts in the register from its beginning in 1538 — was 
married at Wrington, February 5th, 1626-7 to John Amory, Hugh's 
elder son. They had six children : Mary, John, Elizabeth, Annis, 
Matthew, Sara. Mary was baptized November 27th, 1627. "Jona- 
than Wall of Cleeve [a village just outside of the Vale of Wrington,] 
and Mary Amory daughter of John Amory of this pish [parish], 
mercer, were married by ffran. Roberts, Red;', at Buslington, alias 
Brislington, the 24"" of May ano. 165 1." Their son, John Wall, 
baptized at Wrington in 1653. The second daughter, baptized June 
26th, 1633, had died five months before Mary's wedding: "1650. 
EHzabeth Amory, daughter of John and Mary Amory dyed on the 
xxi*** day of December, & was buried on the xxxi*** of December." The 
churchwardens receive from "John Amory for the buriall of his 
daughter Elizabeth in y* Church vi' viii''." The third daughter, 
Annis, was baptized in 1635. ^" ^659> "John Plenty son of John 
Plenty of the parish of Yeatton & Anne Amory daughter of John 
Amory of this parish were marryed on the twentyfourth day of 
November." Sara was baptized in 1642; it is the only entry in 
regard to her. The eldest son, John, married Elizabeth, daughter of 



Notes. 335 

Robert Talbot of Ilminster, and his wife Philippa, daughter of Richard 
Taylor. See at the Record Office two documents in a suit of the year 
1653 against Elizabeth's brother for ;^300 left her by her father — 
"Chancery Bills and Answers before 17 14, R. 'j- and ^, Amory and 
Talbot." In 1653 the Bristol Common Council appointed either this 
John Amory or his father Lead-reeve in the city's manor of Congres- 
bury (pronounced Congsbury or Coongsbury), near Wrington. John 
and Elizabeth had six children : the four sons mentioned on page 9 ; 
another son who died at a year old; and Mary, born in 1659, who in 
1689 was married to Samuel Andrews of Wrington. Elizabeth died 
in May, 1682. In the preceding January (which on page 8, as I re- 
gret to see, I have called 16 80-1: it should be 168 1-2) died her father- 
in-law, John Amory, senior, his wife Mary having died in January, 
1674-5. His son Matthew is in the burial register three days after 
him, and in the following March, Mary Wall, I suppose his eldest 
daughter. Jonathan Wall pays the tithe for Brean's with him in the 
Redor's tithe-book, 1676- 1680. Matthew Amory was baptized in 
1639. In the Prentice Book, September 29th, 1655, " Mathew 
Amory, sonne of John Amory of Wrington in the County of Som., 
Mercer, bound to Philipp Derney of the City of Bristol, Scrivener, for 
Eight Years." In 1663 Mathew Amory pays for one seat in Wring- 
ton Church and continues to do so to the end of the Churchwardens' 
book in 1675. The price, at first two shillings, is reduced in 1667 to 
one, " for the seate which he doe rent." Three of "the pish seats in 
hand to be lett out," are " betweene y' of Robert Rowlands [the 
Schoolmaster and register] & wher Mathew Amory sitts." It does 
not appear that he ever married. The earliest occurrence of Emery 
in the register is the baptism in 1690 of Sarah, daughter of Isaac 
Emery; in 1695 Nathaniel Emmery marries Mary Catcott. 

Hugh Amory was called "yeoman"; his son John, "mercer"; 
Thomas, first " wooUendraper," then " Merchant." John's son in the 
Chancery suit of 1653 is "John Amory, Gentleman." Thomas's son 
is, in Lord Kerry's will, " Thomas Amorie, Merchant " ; in a State 
Paper of 1666, "Squire Amory the Vidualler" ; in Foster's " Lists of 






6 T/ie Descendants of Hugh Amory. 



the Irish Parliament," " Thomas Amory Esq." (Here, by the way, 
his house of Garriearde is said to be at Bunratty ; it was really at 
Galy.) His son, Thomas of Bunratty, ealls himself in 1683 " Gentle- 
man " ; in Gary's complaint against him before the House of Commons 
he is " Thomas Amory Esq," and this is always the designation of his 
son who wrote "John Buncle." Gregory King's " Scheme of the In- 
come and Expense of the several Families in England," made in 1688, 
estimates the number of esquires then existing as 3,000; gentlemen, 
1 2,000 ; eminent merchants, 2,000 ; lesser merchants as many ; free- 
holders of the better sort, 40,000 ; yeomen or freeholders of the lesser 
sort, 120,000; farmers, 150,000; shopkeepers and tradesmen, 50,000; 
artisans, 60,000; employed in the Civil Service, 10,000. There were 
no persons living, as so many live now, on small investments. The 
yearly income of the various classes was estimated as follows : An 
artisan, ;^38; farmer, ^42; shopkeeper or tradesman, ^45 ; yeoman, 
j^55; freeholder of the better sort, £()\\ lesser merchant, ;/^200 ; 
gentleman, j^28o; esquire, /450 ; eminent merchant, ^^"4,000. 

Page 5. " Ground which I have at Locking." The Locking 
registers before 1750 are said to have been destroyed for no reason 
about 1850. 

" My Cozen Dorothy Plumley." The Manor of Locking be- 
longed in 1632 to a Plomley, in whose family it remained until 1685, 
when John Plomley, Esq., forfeited it by joining the Duke of Mon- 
mouth's army. There were Backwells at Locking in 1607, named in 
a copy of the register for that year in the Diocesan Registry at 
Wells. 

Page 7. "John Benett." The will, proved in 1641 (Distridt 
Registry, Wells), of John Bennet of Wrington, leaves to a son-in-law, 
"all my instruments and books belonging to chirurgery except those 
made of silver " ; to a son, " all the drugs and simples, waters, oiles and 
ointments that belong unto phisicke." Mentions " Mr John LufFe of 
Longford." 



Notes. 337 

PageZ. "Accused as a rebel." A rather curious page in the 
Churchwardens' Accounts is " The Accompt of Edmonde Horte one 
of the Churchwardens from May 13, 1642 untill . . . 1644," entered 
by a scribe of the opposite political party. " Item, the said warden 
desireth to be allowed towards his chardge for goinge to Welles to the 
Kinges Commissioners there to undoe all his neighbors by informinge 
ag* them for not setting their handes to the pretended peticon for peace 
and what Rebells they were that did refuse specially Mr Dollinge, 
John Amory and John Tilly, ^i „ 10 „ o. Item more he desireth to 
be allowed for his chardges att 2 Visitations holden att Welles for his 
good service there and nothing done — 14 shillings. Item to Walter 
Lawrence towards his wages w'*' is more than he paid him by Walter's 
accompt £2-" Another warden, John Tilly, renders an account with 
the item : " More, layd out for my imprisonmt att Welles for not re- 
turning men's names of this parrish w'*" did refuse to subscribe to the 
pretended peticon for peace, 16 shillings." Nevertheless, he pays to 
the ringers " on the King's holy day," four shillings, and " when the 
Queene passed thorow the towne," three shillings and tenpence. 

Chapter II. Bristol, 1624- 1660. 

Page 10. For the last three years of his term with Robert Elliott, 
Thomas Amory had for a fellow apprentice, Richard Russell (son of 
Paul Russell, late of the city of Hereford, " generosus "), who in 1636 
married Maud Pitte — the Pitts were great merchants at Bristol — and 
going to New England by 1639, founded the Russell family of Charles- 
town, Massachusetts. Long after the ancestral association was for- 
gotten, descendants of Russell and descendants of Amory became friends 
and cousins in the New World, Sarah and Elizabeth Russell marrying 
towards the end of the eighteenth century Richard and John Sullivan, 
whose sister, Hetty Sullivan, was the wife of Jonathan Amory 
tertius. 

Page 16. "To hold their court daily at the Tolzey." A manu- 
script volume of Tolzey Court Acftions for the year 1700, preserved 

X X 



338 The Descendants of Hugh Ajnory. 

at the Bristol Museum and Library, contains a page of older writing, 
probably diredtions to the town crier : 

" Make pclamacon thrice. Saying O Yes, O Yes, O Yes. All 
manner of Persons that have anything to doe att the Co't of the 
Tolzey here holden in the old market before the aswell sheriffs of the 
Citty of Bristol as Bayliffs to the Major & Comonalty of the same 
citty, draw near and give your attendance. 

" Make pclamacon twice, Saying O Yes, O Yes. Essoigns & 
pfTors, Essoigns & pfTors, Essoigns & pfTors of [. . . word illegible] or 
Plea of any person will be essoigned or enter any plaint lett them come 
in and they shall be heard. 

" Make pclamacon once Saying O Yes. All manner of persons 
that doe owe anything [ . . . ] to this Court answer to your names 
as your call'd on paine of the peine that shall fall on default thereof 

" Tenants of the Bishop of Worcester, come in and [do] your ffree 
Suete & Services. 

"And so of the rest of the Suitors." 

Page 14. One of the early lords of the manor of Brislington built 
a Chapel dedicated to St. Anne in the wood where the northern end of 
the manor runs into a northward loop of the Avon. " Seint Ann's 
Ferye," says the sixteenth century traveller, Leland, " is about a Myle 
and a halfe above the Towne of Brightstowe " (i.e., Bristol); and 
again : " Above Bristow was a comune Trajedlus by Bote wher was 
Chapelle of S. Anne on the same side of Avon that Bath stondith on, 
and here was great pilgrimage to S. Anne." The last ruins of the 
Chapel disappeared only in the nineteenth century. Chemical works 
on the north bank of the Avon and Bristol's growth eastward on the 
south bank have lessened the charm of what is still, however, a pretty 
bit of country. Thomas Amory's property there, or most of it, has 
been of late in the possession of James Sinnott, Esq., of Bristol, who 
in 1898 began to build workmen's dwellings on part of it, presenting 
fifty acres of the rest to the city of Bristol as a public park. The new 
railway station for this is called St. Anne's. 



Notes. 



339 



Page 22. " Died at Dingle." The owner in 1660 of the Castles 
of Dingle — for it had two — was the Knight of Kerry, John Fitzgerald, 
whose wife was sister to Lord Kerry, and aunt, therefore, to the wife 
of Thomas Amory of Galy. Smith's "History of Kerry," written in 
the next century, describes Dingle as the only walled town in the 
county, " but at present a very inconsiderable place. . . . Several of 
the houses were built in the Spanish fashion, this place being formerly 
much frequented by ships of that nation, who traded with the inhabit- 
ants and came to fish on this coast: Most of them are of stone with 
marble door and window frames. . . . Many of them have dates on 
them as old as Queen Elizabeth's time and some earlier. . . . The 
town stands at the bottom of a small but safe harbour at the mouth of 
which large vessels may ride secure : the channel lies on the west side, 
and ships of one hundred tons may come up to the town. The en- 
trance ot the harbour was formerly defended by a small fort or block 
house. . . . The parish Church dedicated to St James is said to have 
been . . . built at the charge of the Spaniards. It was originally very 
large but most of the old strufture is gone to ruin. . . . About five 
miles north of Dingle stands St Brandon's Hill . . . little if at all in- 
ferior to Mangerton and the Reeks, it being often co veered with clouds 
when the tops of these others are clear. The foot of this mountain is 
washed by the sea on the north." 

Page 22. " Garryard " : the name of Thomas Amory 's house at 
Galy. 

Chapter III. Ireland. 

Page 24. The Irish Parliament of 1 661- 1666, because the King 
had more claims made upon him than there was land in Ireland to 
satisfy, passed the Adt of Settlement and Explanation, depriving 
Roman Catholics. It also, because the Somerset clothiers desired a 
monopoly of the cloth manufafture, began putting checks on the 
woollen industry recently brought into Ireland by the Protestant 
settlers. i^See Lecky, "Eighteenth Century in Ireland.") 



340 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Page 24. To the Secretary of the Duke of Ormond, Lord 
Lieutenant of Ireland (Carte Papers, vol. xxxv., p. 157, copied by- 
Mr. W. H. Turner): 

"S" 

" The Rumo" of the ffrench Invasion and some Preparations 
making ag' them, hath created some ad:ive thoughts in my flegmatique 
nature ; How agreeable they may be to better Judgments I know not, 
but bee. they are cheape, easy & probable I shall expose them to His 
Grace Censure w""" is Apointing some persons to prepare fire-ships in 
Kinsale Harbo' (& the same may perhaps be thought fit for other 
harbo" also as Corke, Waterford, Galway &c). The manner of doing 
it I have desired my agent Capt. Crispin to specify in the inclosed 
paper, and I suppose he wilbe the fittest person yo" can have for pre- 
paring & managing thereof wherein my Endeavo" shall not be wanting 
if His Grace comand it. 

" I am of opinion Tis almost Impossible to faile of as much success 
as may be expected from an army of hand if the Navy Invade where 
my fire ships are : But I hope we are more afraid than Hurt, for 
though the french might doe us much mischeife yet I doe not find 
what advantage they can doe themselves, And I am unwilling to be- 
leeve that the ffrench who would not accept or Trust the Irish when 
they offered the Kingdome to them, and when almost al the Kingdome 
was in their possession, I say I am unwilling to beleeve that the french 
will now Trust them when the Irish have not a Garrison to bestow on 
them : However Cures of Prevention are good. And if they do come 
I am confident they will bring so great an army as not to have any de- 
pendence on the Irish although question less They will make good use 
of them also. 

" Mons. Chosin hath one ship 160 Tons still in Harbo' & 500 
bar'' beefe in another vessell & both have beene along time ready to 
saile. Himselfe is enlisted & serves in the Soveraigne's Troope & of 
his own division when they watch ; He keepes as many servants still, 
both french & Irish now, as he did when he slaughtered so much pro- 



Notes, 341 

vision. And perhaps if order was given when the french fleete were in 
sight that search might be made by souldiers of y" army not of y' town 
militia Declarations might be found ; for certainly so many faith- 
ful servants after such a Broken voiage spealceth that he hath some 
aftion for them. And what more than Intelligence, If the french 
designe Invasion I know not. 

" I wish the Vice Adm" was ordered to superintend the frigats that 
come in, to keepe them at sea in company, whereby speedier notice 
may be given in case any fleet is discovered : I am now going for 
Kerry where I have not beene 11 dayes these 17 months & shal post 
thence If any com''^ follow mee : I am 

" S' Yo' humble serv* 

" Tho. Amory. 

"Corke 17 Jan'^ 1666 [1666]. 

"Any ship that hath sailes to yard may be made a fire ship 
in 12 houres tune, but they should laye at the Block house alwayes in 
a readiness. 

[Direfted :] " To the honb'"^ Sr George Lane Kt. 
" Sec'" to his Grace the Lord Lieut 
" of Irelande 
" for his maj'>' service 

" present 

"Dublin." 

Page 25. " Merchants at Galway." Cromwell's soldiers, me- 
chanics, etc., had been indiscriminately made free of the Corporation of 
Galway, the respectable natives and gentry being turned out of the 
town. On the Restoration these received promises, but no more : it 
was impossible so to overcome party-feeling and private animosities as 
to make effediive restitution. The whole Corporation property had 
been mortgaged in aid of the royal cause, and not being redeemed now 
reverted to the Crown. Charles the Second bestowed it as a gift on 
one of his favourites. Against this the Lord Lieutenant (Capel) 



342 The Desce7idants of Hugh Amory. 

protested. " Galway," he writes, " was once a considerable place of 
trade, and one of the principal strengths of the kingdom : it furnished 
all the province of Connaught (it being the only frequented port there) 
with foreign commodities ; but now I hear the merchants are all 
leaving the place and the gentlemen of the country are forced to send 
as far as this city [Dublin] for those things whereof they used to be 
provided from thence." A certain Colonel Theodore Russell saved 
the town by buying its charter-market and petty duties from the royal 
favourite, out of his own private means; he was chosen Mayor, and 
retained the office until 1686. While John Amory was second Sheriff, 
the uproar in England over the pretended Popish Plot led to new rules 
in Ireland against Roman Catholics. They were forbidden to come 
into the market of Galway, and by-laws were made, declaring that 
several persons named (principally the ancient families of Galway) 
" are not fit to live in the towne or men useful to the garrison . . . 
that notice be given forthwith to all persons that are not free of the 
Corporation that they do not presume to trade by retail within the 
town either in shops or houses, or their goods shall be seized and 
sold." In spite of all this some natives were allowed to return quietly. 
Under James II. they regained possession of everything, and the 
Protestants were deported to a village outside the town until the Battle 
of the Boyne reversed things once more. John Amory after all these 
changes was living at Galway, an Alderman, in the reign of George I. 

Page 25. Humphrey Jervis. See Sir John Gilbert's " Calendar 
of Ancient Records of the City of Dublin." 

Page 25. " Prebendary of St Michaels'." One of the three 
prebends of Christ Church Cathedral ; a small parish about five acres 
in extent, its church standing just west of the Cathedral. Dr. John 
Glendie, in 1674, exerted himself to get the church repaired. 

Chapter V. Bunratty, 1677 — 1728. 

Page 42. Sir Bernard Burke, in a note on the Amory pedigree 
which he sent from Dublin, observes that by a "Deed 26 Sept. 171 2, 



Notes. 343 

Henry Earl of Thomond conveyed to Thomas Amory the Castle of 
Bunratty, Key island, Reed island and Keybeg island, with free 
passage of coach out and through Bunratty to the town of Six Mile 
Bridge at the rent of £^^o per annum and a Horse Soldier when 
required." A letter to someone in Ireland written about 1882 by 
Captain Richard Studdert (it is now among Mr. T. C. Amory 's papers) 
says : " Thomas Amory purchased Bunratty from the Earl of Thomond 
in 171 2 and was with his wife Elizabeth residing in the Castle in 1725 
when he sold it to Thomas Studdert my great grandfather." It is said 
that Thomas Studdert gave him a mortgage upon it for ^1,500. 
Carlyle mentions Bunratty Castle under the year 1649, ^" ^^^ " Letters 
of Cromwell." 



Chapter VI. 'The Azores, 1706 — 1718. 

Page 49. For Arthur Middleton, his ancestors and his descendants, 
see McCrady's " South Carolina." For the Middletons of Stockeld 
see Whitaker's " History of Craven." 

Page 59. In the fourth line of this page, it is hardly necessary to 
say, for Russia read Prussia. 

Page 94. Persons named in Thomas Amory's record: "Rev. 
Benjamin Colman, pastor of the Brattle Street Church, 1699-1747. 
Lord Lechmere's brother, Mr. Thomas Lechmere, Surveyor-General 
of His Majesty's Customs for the Northern Distrid: of America, died 
in 1765 "at an advanced age." Mr. James Smith, related to Land- 
grave Smith of Carolina, and to the wife of President John Adams, 
was a merchant, had sugar-works near the Brattle Street Church, and 
owned a country-house at Milton. Madam Luce: Mr. Peter Luce 
is often named in the Letter Books. Madam Guerrish : perhaps 
the wife of John Gerrish, one of the six men who together built Long 
Wharf in 17 10. Drake mentions also Benjamin Gerrish, a founder of 
the new North Church in 1712; and Samuel Gerrish, town-clerk in 
1734. John Barnes, chosen in September, 1722, Treasurer of the 



344 ^^^ Descendafits of Hugh Amory. 

Committee to receive subscriptions for the building of Christ Church, 
King's Chapel being overcrowded. He was also on the Committee 
which bought land in Summer Street in 1728 to build Trinity Church. 
Madam Miles : the Rev. Samuel Myles was Redor of King's Chapel, 
1689-1728. Joshua Were, probably Wier or Wyer (rhyming with 
here). Timothy Newell had several nephews of this name, and the 
first wife of Jonathan Amory tertius, was Nancy Wyer. I find no 
mention of Mr. Job Lewis. 



Chapter XIII. Boston, \~i-jG — 178 1. 

Page 209. Gilbert Deblois's father and mother, Stephen Deblois 
and Ann Freely, both came from England in the man-of-war Seahorse, 
when it brought William Burnet to be Governor of New York, They 
were married at New York, February 6th, 1721. Stephen was born 
in St. Clement's parish, Oxford, where the register shows that he was 
baptized July 2ist, 1700. His father Louis De Blois was perhaps 
one of the Protestants who left France on the Revocation of the Edift 
of Nantes in 1685. "Mary Dubois, daughter of Luis Dubois' 
is baptized at St. Clement's, Odlober 25th, 1688 ; "William Deblois, 
the son of Lewis Deblois," February 17th, 1689-90; then Abraham, 
another Lewis, and on the 22nd of June, 1698, Constance. "Martha 
Deblois, the wife of Lewis Deblois was buryed June 24, 1698." 
Stephen was the first of seven children by a second marriage ; the res' 
were Francis, another Francis, Samuel, Secundus, Lezee and Jane. 
Their mother's name is not given. A volume of Churchwarden's 
Accounts beginning in 1721 shows from 1723 to 1733 "Lewis 
Deblois," or "Mr Deblois," paying two or three shillings a year to 
the poor rate. In June, 1739, the register gives the burial of " Mr 
Deblois." Stephen had two sons and a daughter, all of whom were 
married in Boston — Sarah to William Wallace, Lewis to Eliza Jenkins. 
A page of eighteenth-century writing in Mr. T. C. Amory 's colledion 
begins with : " Gilbert Deblois, born in New York, North America, 
March 17* 1725, and was married to Ann Coffin, daughter of William 



Notes. 345 

Coffin in Boston N.E. (aged 19 years) on Saturday, Feb' . . . 1651." 
Gilbert and Ann had sixteen children whose names follow in the 
record. Seven of the ten sons grew up, and one daughter, the 
beautiful Betsy Deblois. A most excellent match was arranged between 
Betsy and Mr. Martin Brimmer, but for some reason — probably con- 
nefted with the Revolution — it lost Mrs. Deblois's favour, and when 
the banns were published in church, she stood up and forbade them. 
Mr. Brimmer thereupon brought in the evening a loaded hay cart 
under Betsy's window — it was at the corner of Bromfield and Tremont 
Streets — that he might take her to church and be married without 
more ado. As she was preparing to step down on the hay her mother 
caine into the room, threw her arms round her, and sent for a car- 
penter to nail up the window. The man came, but declined the job : 
he " could not do it to such a beautiful young lady." The romance, 
however, was there cut short, and Betsy spent the rest of a long life in 
taking care of her mother, and of her brothers' sons and daughters. 
Mr. Brimmer married someone else. The Genealogical Register many 
years ago printed a letter written to Mrs. Knox in 1777 by Benedidl 
Arnold, enclosing a letter "to the heavenly Miss Deblois," and hoping 
for "favorable intelligence" of her through Mrs. Knox and "the 
charming Mrs Emery," who was no doubt Mrs. Deblois's sister 
Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Amory. A young brother of Betsy's, born 
in 1767 writes to his friend, James Cutler; "London, 45 Hatton 
Street. Dec' 1782.— I had the pleas', my Dear James, of receiving your 
kind Letter of 20"^ 061. ... I am happy to hear of the safe arrival 
of the Apollo as I was so fortunate as to write a few lines to Mama, 
by w'*" she was inform'd of my being arriv'd in Amsterdam where I 
remained 9 weeks. Indeed, my Dear James, I never once regretted 
leaving home (although I have been in imminent danger) notwithstandg 
w"*" I have not seen any Place that I shou'd prefer spending my Days 
in, than Boston. ... I had the happiness of finding my Father & 
Brothers in good Health. ... I have nothing new to communicate, 
save that there is great talk of Peace w"'' that it may soon arrive 
is the sincere wish of your Friend J"°. V. S. Deblois." Another 

Y Y 



346 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

brother, Stephen, married his cousin Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas 
Amory. 

Chapter XV. Family Letters^ 178 5- 1805. 

Page ic,(). "John's was the next house." Rufus Greene's house 
certainly belonged to John Amory, for he disposes of it in his will 
made in 1796; but he says, at the same time, that it is occupied by 
his son John. 

Chapter XVI. Of Heraldry. 

Page 264. " Daughter of FitzMaurice, Earl of Kerry." The 
father of Mrs. Amory of Galy held the rank of a baron. Her 
nephew, the 21st baron, was created Earl of Kerry. 



Chapter XVII. Other Amory Families. 

Page 2^4- Robtus Amorye, 1570. This is in the Somerset Sub- 
sidy, 13 Elizabeth; Hundred of Wells Forum. Southover is one 
of the four verderies or wards of the city of Wells, and is in the parish 
of St. Cuthbert's, where the register (which I have not seen) begins in 
1608. Until a few years ago this parish included the whole of Wells, 
except the extra-parochial Township or Liberty of St. Andrew's, i.e.y 
the Cathedral and its Close. 



Omissions: In List of Authorities. Ref 118: Letter XI., p. 57, 
is a copy made from the Letter Books by Mr. T. C. Amory's copyist 
about 1865. Ref. 200: See also page 246, Letter CLXXXIV., 
Nov. 28, 1785. — In Notes, Chapter VI. : Page 50, Letter III. is really 
dated 1711, not 1706. 




A LIST OF PORTRAITS. 



Made by Mr. T. C. Amory about 1865. Revised in 1898. 

I. Thomas Amory, b. Dublin, 1682; d. Boston, 1728. 

Brown eyes, blue cloak, many-folded white neckcloth, gray wig 
with curls flowing to the shoulder. Own hair reddish brown, 
visible at temple. See Letter of July 6th, 17 19, page 69 : 
" have cutt off my own hair since have been at Boston." 
He had, however, bought a periwig in 17 12. Original of 
this pi(5lure lost, perhaps in the fire of 1787, which destroyed 
the house of his son Thomas. There exist now : 

I. A copy in crayons, made before 1787 (Mr. T, C. Amory 
thought, by Copley). Owner ^ Miss Maria P. Codman, 
Bristol, R.I. 

*2. A copy of the above copy, made in crayons for Mr. T. C. 
Amory by Richard M. Staigg between 1840 and 1868. 
Mr. Arthur Amory, Marlborough Street, Boston. 

II. Thomas Amory, b. Boston, 1722; d. 1784. 

Two portraits, i. By Blackburn, 1760. Mrs. Channing Clapp, 

Beacon Street, Boston. 
*2. By Copley, before the Revolution. Mr. Arthur Amory. 
A copy of this, made for Mr. William D. Sohier by Otis, 1853. 

Miss Elizabeth D. Sohier, Beacon Street, Boston, 

III. Mrs. Thomas Amory (Elizabeth Coffin), wife of the above, b. 

Boston, 1 741 ; d. 1822. 



34S The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 

Two portraits, i. By Copley, who, going to England in June, 
1774, left it unfinished on his easel. Mrs. 'Theodore Met- 
calfe Brookline, Massachusetts. 

*2. By Gilbert Stuart. Mr. William Amory., Beacon Street, 
Boston. 

[I am told, also, of portraits of " Thomas Amory and his wife, by 
Copley," owned by Miss Maria P. Codman, Bristol, R.I.] 

*IV. Thomas Coffin Amory, b. Boston, 1767; d. 1812. By Gil- 
bert Stuart. Mr. William Amory. 

V. Mrs. Thomas Coffin Amory (Hannah Rowe Linzee), wife of 

the above, b. 1775; d. 1845. 
Two portraits, one before her marriage, one after. 

VI. Mrs. Jonathan Amory (Mehetable Sullivan), b. Saco, Maine, 

1772; d. Boston, 1847. 
Four portraits, i. Miniature, companion to that of Thomas 

Graves Russell, to whom she was engaged and who died 

1787. Mr. Har court Amory, Beacon Street, Boston. 
1. By Gambadelk, about 1845. Owned by the Miss Merediths, 

and stored in care of Mr. J. Morris Meredith, Boston. 

3. By R. M. Staigg, painted later than 1847, from the Gamba- 

della and from sketches by her daughter, Isabella Lennox 
Amory. Mr. Arthur Amory. 

4. A cameo, cut by John C. King. The Miss Merediths. 

VII. William Amory, b. Boston, 1774; d. 1808. 

A miniature (Mr. T. C. Amory thought by Malbone). Blue 
eyes, powdered hair, white neckcloth, dark blue coat. The 
Miss Merediths. 

VIII. Nathaniel Amory, b. 1777; d. 1842. 

Three portraits, i . As a young man. By Henry Sargent. Mr. 

Arthur Amory. 
a. By his friend Washington Allston. Owner perhaps Mrs. D. J. 

Curtis or Miss Wormeley, nieces of Mrs. Nathaniel Amory. 



Fat?tily Portraits. 349 

3. A miniature. As an old man. (Mr. T. C. Amory said by 
R. M. Staigg.) The Miss Merediths. 

IX. Stephen Deblois, grandson of William and Ann (Holmes) 

Coffin, b. 1764; d. 1850. '■ ■ • - 

By S. W. Flagg, 1839. Dr. Thomas Amory Deblois, Gloucester 
Street , Boston. 

X. John Amory, b. Boston, 1728; d. 1803. 

By Copley, 1768. Miss M. P. Codman, Bristol, R.I. 

XI. Mrs. John Amory (Katherine Greene), wife of the above, b. 

Boston, 1731; d. London, 1777. 
Miss M. P. Codman. 

According to Mr. T. C. Amory 's list there were portraits of all 
John Amory 's six sons, and of their wives, but by whom painted or 
now owned is not said. 





INDEX. 



Abbot, Charles, 142. 

Abotisham, 315. 

A6t of Proscription and Banishment, 
217. 

A£l of Settlement and Explanation, 339. 

Adams, John, President, 256, 343. 

Adams, Samuel, 121, 166, 180. 

Adet, M., 252, 253. 

Albany, 317. 

Allein, 84. 

America,i2i-258,3I7, 343. Americans, 
137-260. 

Amfridus, 294. 

Amiel, Mrs. and Miss, 113. 

Amory : 

^thelmaer, 287, 290. Ailmer, 287, 
290. Ailmerus, 287. Aimery, 
283. Aimori, Alicie relifte, 292. 
de Almari, Gilbert, 291 . Robert, 299. 
Almaric, 286. Almarici, Radul- 
phus filius, 289. de Almarico, 
Rog., 301. Almaricus, 291. Alma- 
ricus, John the son of, 291. 
Almeric, 286. Almerich, 286. Al- 
merici, Robertas filius, 288-290, 
294; Yvice his wife, 294; William, 
Robert, Ralph, and Henry, his sons, 



294. Almericus, 288. Almerigo, 

286. Aimery, 312. 
de Amalri, Rob., 299. Amalric, son 

of Ralph, 295. Amalric, Robert 

the son of, 294. Amalrich, 286. 

Amalricus, Ralph the son of, 295. 
Amare, John, 291. Amari, Andrew, 

292. de Amari, Gilbert, 291 ; 

Rob., 299 ; Rogero, 288, 298. 

Amarici, Roberto filio, 296. Ama- 

rico, 292 ; Andrea filio ejus, 292. 
Amary, Gilbert, 311 ; Ralph the son 

of Robert the son of, 295 ; Ralph 

the son of, 295 ; Amabilia wife of 

Ralph, 295 ; Ricardus filius Roberti, 

288 ; Richard, 303 ; Robert, 303. 
Amauri, 286, 289 ; Andree fil', 292 ; 

Ralph the son of, 296 ; Robert son 

of Ralph son of, 296; Rogerus, 

301. 
Amauricius, 287,294, 295; of Cowley, 

292 ; Funeholt his wife, 292. 
Amere ah Prier, James, 313. Amere, 

John, 312; William, 312. Amerey, 
Edward, 314; George, 314; John, 

270, 3"> 313-315- d'Ameri, 
Gilbert, 291. Amcrico, 286. 



Indi 



ex. 



351 



Atnory — continued, 

Americus, 287. Amerie, Alice, 
315; Anton, 269; George, 269 ; 
Henry, 315, John, 315, Richard, 
315, William, 315. Amerik, Ri- 
cardo, 31 2. 

Amery, 283 ; Anne, 315 ; Edmund, 
313; Gabriel, 315; John, 315; 
Jonathan, 314 ; Philip, 315 ; Ralph, 
314,315; Richard, 313-315; Sala- 
thiel, 315; Thomas, 314, 315 ; 
William, 314, 315. 

Amerye, Hugh, 314, 318 ; Thomas, 
314, 318; John, 312. Ammery, 
Hugh, 316 ; Richard, 316. Am- 
mori, William, 292. Ammory, 
Gilbert, 311. 

Amore, Elizabeth, 313 ; Henry, 313; 
Isabel], 279; James, 312; Joan, 
313 ; John, 311-313; Thomas, 
279, 313; William, 313. 

Amori, Galfrid or Geoffrey, 292 ; 
Juliana his wife, 292; William, 
292. 

Amorie, 288 ; Anthonie, 269 ; An- 
thony, 270; George, 269; Thomas, 

23) 335- 

Amory, 250, 264, 271, 286, 287, 
289; Abigail (Taylor), 110, 228; 
Agnes (Young), 3, 6, 318 ; Agnes, 
Annis or Anne (m. Plenty), 5, 334 ; 
Ann (Elliott), 4, 10, 11, 14, 15, 
17, 22, 25 ; Ann (m. Chappell), 14, 
22, 99 ; Anne, dau. of Jonathan 
and Martha, 35,37 ; Anthony, 269, 
271; 

Benjamin, 317; Charles, 1 1 o, Christo- 
pher, 315; 

Elizabeth (Coffin), 109, no, 175, 181, 



218, 238, 248, 250,251, 262, 345 ; 
(m. Coynes), 14, 22 ; (m. Deblois), 
346; (Durroy), 45, 103; (Fitz- 
maurice), 23, 42, 346 ; dau. of John 
and Mary, 5, 334; (Talbot), 9, 
334) 335 » elder dau. of Thomas 
and Ann, 14, 22 ; dau. of Thomas 
of Galy, 42; (Vandaleur), 104, 
263; Pronounced Emory, iSj ; 
Francis, 262; Giles, 314; Henry, 

15, 24, 25)315; 
Hugh, I, 2, 5, 9, 10, 266, 274, 275, 

277) 31 1) 3'8, 334) 335; son of 
Hugh and Agnes, 2 ; of Stogumber, 
315 ; son of Thomas and Ann, 14, 
18, 24; son of John and Mary, 9, 
316; 

Isaac, 97, 98 ; James, 316, 318 ; 
James H., 316 ; James Sullivan, 
1 10; Joan, 315; 

John, Captain, 317; of Chapel, 
Bishop's Nymet, 269-271 ; Colonel, 
318 ; son of Hugh and Agnes, 3-5, 

7-9, 334, 335, 337, 342; son of 
John and Elizabeth, 9, 316 ; son of 
John and Katherine, 212, 222-224, 
231, 262, 346 ; of John and Mary, 
8, 9) 334, 335 ; of Leicestershire, 
312 ; of Maiden, Essex, 291 ; of 
Stogumber, 315; of Taunton, 87, 
89, 278 ; son of Thomas and Ann, 
14)15.25,44, 71)88,97, 99, loi, 
103-105, 274, 275 ; son of Thomas 
and Elizabeth (Coffin), 262 ; son 
of Thomas and Rebecca, 95, no, 
1 1 8-1 20, 123, 127, 141, 157, 163, 
192, 203-207, 213, 216, 217, 227, 
229-232, 238, 239, 245, 249, 250, 
252, 259, 262, 346; ofThorpe,3i i. 



352 



The Descenda?its of Hugh Afnory. 



Amory — continued. 

Jonathan son of Jonathan tertius and 
Mehetable, 239 ; and John, mer- 
chants, no, 118, 123-247, 168, 
175,236; son of John and Kather- 
ine, 212, 262 ; son of Thomas and 
Ann, 15, 24-28, 31-42, 44-46, 73, 
88, 94> 97, 98, 102, 273, 278 ; 
tertius, son of Thomas and Eliza- 
beth (Coffin), 118, 252, 255, 258, 
261, 262, 344 ; son of Thomas and 
Rebecca, 94, 1 09-1 11, 118, 120, 
123, 127, 141, 203, 208, 210, 211, 
213, 219, 226, 227, 236, 244, 259; 

Judith, 27, 28, 34,35; 

Katherine (Greene), no, 164, 165, 
203, 204, 216, 217 ; dau. of John 
and Katherine, 230 ; Lucy, dau. 
of Thomas of Galy, 42 ; (m. Mc 
Mahon), 104, ill, 112, 114, 117; 

Major, 114, 115; Martha, wife of 
Jonathan, 28, 36, 37, 278, 279; 

Mary (m. Andrews), 9, 335 ; (m. 
Hoskins, 15, 22, 71, loi ; (m. 
Newell), 94, 1 01, 102 ; ah. Nicho- 
las, 315; wife of Simon, 317; (m. 
Wall), 5, 334, 335 ; (Willett), 4, 

334, 335; 

Mathew, 9, 334, 335 ; Mehetable 
(Sullivan), 261, 338 ; Mrs., of 
Charleston, 98, 273 ; Mrs.,ofRox- 
bury (Elizabeth Bowen), 278, 279; 

Nathaniel, 118, 257, 260-262, 277; 

Rachel, 315 ; Ralph, 314; 

Rebecca, dau. of John and Katherine, 
230 ; (Holmes), 91-95, 100, 102, 
103, 105-107, 167, 168; (widow 
of Houston), 26-29, 94, i°2 ; (m. 
Payne), 94, loi, 102, 250; 



Richard, 311, 316; son of Anthony, 
269. 

de Amory, Richard, 291, 292, 299, 
304; Robert, 295, 299, 300. 

Amory, Robert, of Bishop's Nymet, 
314; of Chester, 313 ; (family now 
of Clifton), 316 ; of Ilminster, 315 ; 
son of Jonathan and Martha, 35, 
37 ; elder son of John and Eliza- 
beth, 9 ; younger son of John and 
Elizabeth, 9, 316 ; son of Thomas 
and Ann, 14, 15, 21, 22, 24, 25, 
28, 43, 44, 51, 88, 100, 104, 105, 
274; of Wakefield, 46, 108, n6, 
263-266. 

de Amory, Roger, 292, 293, 298, 
300, 301, 305. 

Amory, Rufus Greene, 212, 230, 
23', 249, 250, 259; 

Samuel, 89, as " Mr. Amory in 
London," 116; Sara, 334; Sarah 
(m. Middleton), 28, 34, 37, 49, 
51, 66, 67, 73, 81, 82, 99 ; Simon, 

87, 89, 317- 
Amorys and Taylor, 164, 168, 170, 

210, 212. 

Amorys, Taylor and Rogers, 171, 188, 
210, 214, 236. 

Amory, Thomas, of Bishop's Nymet, 
314; of Bunratty, 27, 42-46, 50, 
62, 65,70,88,94,97,99-101, 104- 
1 06, 1 1 5, 263, 265, 266, 336, 343 ; 
of Chester, 313; of Galy, 4, 18, 
21-24, 88, 106, 1 17, 1 18, 280, 313, 
335, 338, 339, 341; son of Hugh 
and Agnes, 2, 4, 10-22, 88, 313, 
337 ; son of Jonathan and Rebecca, 
27, 28, 34, 35, 37, 42, 45-107, 
III, 112,117, "8, 273,278, 343; 



Index. 



ISZ 



Amory — continued. 

of Rathlahine, 104, 106-108, I 11, 
"3. "4, "7, 263,265,287,336; 
Vicar of St. Teath by Camelford, 
283, 315; son of Thomas and 
Rebecca, 94, 102, 109-113, 140, 
141, 167, 204, 208, 209, 221, 238, 
262, 317; 

Thomas Coffin, son of Jonathan and 
Mehetable, 28, 45, 90, 93,98, 103, 
109, 118, 127, 167, 208, 239,251, 
266, 273, 275-280, 315, 316, 318, 
343, 344 ; son of Thomas and 
EHzabeth (Coffin), 253, 258, 262, 
277 ; son of Thomas Coffin and 
Hannah, 114, 1 18; 

Walter, 316; 

VVilHam, son of, 294; of Chapel, 
Bishop's Nymet, 269, 270; of Deer- 
field, Mass., 317 ; of Dunster, 312; 
son of John (of Chapel), 270 ; son 
of John and Llizabeth, 9; son of 
John and Katherine, 212, 228, 262 ; 
of St. Kitts, 317 ; of Stogumber, 
315; son of Thomas and Elizabeth 
(Coffin), 251, 252, 255-257. 

d'Amorye, Foulke, 280. 

Amorye, George, 271, 314; Richard, 
315; Robert, 315; Robtus, 314, 
346 ; William, 314. 

de Aumari, Gilbertus, 291; Henrico 
filioRoberti filio,288; Ricardo,303. 

Aumari, Roberto filio, 296, 299. 

de Aumari, Roberto, 299 ; Robertus, 
298 ; Rogero, 298, 302. 

Aumaric, Ralph, 296 ; Robert, the 
son of Ralph, 288. 

de Aumary, Radulfo, 301; Rogero, 
298. 

z z 



Aumary, Robert, 296, 298 ; of Au- 
mary, Roger, 297. 

de Aumeri, Roger, 301; of Aumery, 
Hadewyse wife of Roger, 298, 
Raph, 297 ; Robert, 297, 298 ; 
Robert, Raph and Richard, sons of 
Roger, 298 ; Aumery, Robert, 297. 

de Aumori, Richard, 303; Roger, 303. 

Aymar, 287. 

Dalmorey, Richard, 304. 

Damare, Nicholas, 308, 310. Daman", 
289; Ricardus, 303; Roberto, 300. 
Damars or Amorie near Caen, 288. 
Dambemare, 287. 

Damer, Joseph, 43, 44, 263, 265, 267, 
268, 271, 272, 287, 313; John, 
268, 289. 

D'Amerie, John, 270. D'Amerey, 
George, 270. Damerey, John, 268, 
2/0, 313- Dammary, John, 311 ; 
Richard, 303; Walter, 310. 

Dammor, Rogero, 302. Dammory, 
Margaret, 304, 305, 309 ; Nicholas, 
286, 310 ; Richard, 304, 305; 
Roger, 306. 

Damori, Ricardus, 302. D'Amorie 
288 ; Giles, 268, 274. Damorie, 
Nicholas, 304. Damoroy, Robert 
Thomas and William, 312. 

D'Amory, 288, 289; Agnes, 308 
Richard, 308, 309 ; Robert, 293 
Rogerus, 302. Damory, Elizabeth 
(m. Bardolf), 307; Nicholas, 310 
Richard,286,304,3i3; Roger,286 
304, 305, 307 ; Damry, 288, 289 

D'Aumari, Ricardus, 298 ; Roberto, 
299. Daumari, Alice, 291 ; Galfrid 
291; Radulfo, 295 ; Ricardo, 295 
Richard, 31 1; Roberto, 300. 



354 



The Descendants of Hugh Ajnory. 



Amory — continued. 

Daumere, Richard, 311. Daumery, 
Katherine, 304, Robert, 304. 
D'Aumory, Katherine, 282, 
Robert, 282. Dawmory, Christo- 
pher, 281, Elizabeth, 281. 
Emery, 98, 283, 287, 316, 335, 345. 
Emmerich, 286. Emmery, 287, 
335. Emory, 107, 283, 287, 316. 
Ethelmarus, 287. 
Haimerius, 287. Hamon, 286. 

Amsterdam, 58, 59, 176, 218, 231, 345. 

Amy, Thomas, 45. 

Andrews, Samuel, of London, 89 ; of 
Wrington, 335. 

Andros, Sir Edmund, 80. 

Angra, 47, 49, 50, 52-56, 59, 61, 62, 

Anjou, Philip of, 50. 

Ansley, 171, 173, 176, 177, 179, 180, 

182, 201. 
Antigua, 24, 44, 88,97, loi, 104, 210, 

317- 
Antt, Joseph, i6g, 201. 
"Apollo," the, 345. 
Apthorp, Rev. Charles, 120 ; Mr., 132. 
Aquitaine, 308. 
Aragon, 50. 
Archdale, John, 31-33. 
Ardfert, 24. 
Arnold, Benedict, 345. 
Asherney or Ashregney, 281. 
Aston, Matthew and Thomas, 1 76 ; 

Thomas, 169. 
Atkinson and Campbell, 132. 
Auchincloss, 169 ; and Lang, 201. 
Auchmuty, Robert, 105. 
de Audele, Hugh, 306. 
Austin, James Trecothick, 1 16. 



Austin Key (Ouay), Dublin, iii. 

Austria, Charles, Archduke of, 50. 

Avery, 252. 

Ayer, Margery, 271, 314. 

Ayscough, John, 280 ; Ayscue, Sir 

George, 280. 
Azores, 47, 49, 54, 88, 97, 273, 343. 

"Bacchus," the, 70. 

Back Bay, the, 113. 

Backford, 314. 

Backhall, the, Bristol, 19. 

Backwell, 336 ; Dorothy, 5 ; Hanna, 5 ; 

Henry, 5-8 ; Henry, junior, 5 ; 

Joane (LufFe), 6, 7 ; John, 5. 
Badlesmere, Bartholomew, Lord of, 307. 
Bahamas, 36, 85. 
Bainton, 305. 
Baker, Ehedeth, 6 ; John, admiral, 54, 

56; William, 6. 
Balchin, Peter, and Co., 181. 
Ballan Street, Bristol, i 7. 
Ballentine, Lientenant-Colonel, 90. 
Ballyboneene, 24. 
Baltic, 62. 
Bannockburn, 306. 
Banwell, 3. 

Barbadoes, 28, 29, 102, 280. 
Barcelona, 50. 
Bardolf, Thomas, Lord, 307 ; Elizabeth 

(Damory), 307. 
Barkeby, 311. 

Barker, Josiah, and Co., 171. 
Barlow, Captain, 87. 
Barnard, William, and Son, 169; and 

Harrison, 131, 133, 137. 
Barnes, John, 94, 343 ; Madam, 95. 
Barnsfare, 209. 
Barnstable, Devon, 89. 



Index. 



355 



Barrell, Joseph, 210, 214; Theodore, 

215,216; Walter, 215 ; William, 

210, 212-216. 
Barrington, 233. 
Bartlett, Captain, 135, 160. 
Basset, Gilbert, 298 ; (Thomas), 299. 
Bath, 4, 8, 14. 
Battle Abbey, 288, 289. 
Bayley, 142. 
Beach Hill, 90. 
Beacon Street, 120. 
Bean, Samuel, 209. 
Bear Swamp, 38. 

Beauchamp, de, Roger and Sibilla, 309. 
Beaudart de St. James, 222. 
Bedfordshire, 298. 
Bedford Square, 317. 
Beeman, Joseph, 211. 
Belcher, Jonathan, 68, 109. 
Bell, Captain, 134. 
Benett or Bennet, John, 7, 336. 
Berkeley County, S. C, 31. 
Berkshire County, Mass., 233. 
Bernard, Governor, ri3, 121, 122, 125, 

138. 
Berquien, le, 48. 
Berwick, 306. 
Bew, 107, 112; Jane, 105, 1 12; John, 

112; Thomas, 105. 
Bicester, 309. 
Bicknoller, 315. 
Binker, Jene, 27. 

Bird, Robert, 151 ; and Smith, 129. 
Bishop's Nymet (now Nympton), 269- 

271,314,315,318. 
Bixbrind, 305 ; Bix Gibwyn, 305. 
Blacker, Thomas Hart ah^ 20. 
Blanchard, Caleb, 236. 
Blechesdon or Blechingdon, 290, 292, 



293, 296, 299, 300, 304, 305, 307, 

309, 310- 
Blind Lane, 249. 

Blue Anchor Tavern, 90. 

Bodeclyve, 311. 

Bodleian Library, 284, 285, 297. 

Bohun, Edmund, 36. 

Bold, 62, 63. 

Bonee, John, 40. 

Bonney, Captain, 138. 

Bonvile, George, 20. 

Bordeaux, 17, 252, 253. 

Boston, 50-287, 317, 345; Gazette, 

119; Port Bill, 180, 182, 183; 

Transcript, 89. 
Bourdieu and Chollet, 185. 
Boutell, 282. 
Bovett (Richard), 8. 
Bow Church, 172. 
Bowdoin, James, 118. 
Bowen, John, 17. 

Bower, Benjamin and John, 168, 199. 
Boyle (Michael), Archbishop of Dublin 

and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 23, 

26. 
Boylston, Dr., 95. 
Boyne, the, 342. 
Brattle Street Church, 91, iio, 167, 

343; Brattle, Thomas, 217, 224, 

225. 
Bray, Dr., 40. 
Brazer's Building, 94, iig. 
Brazil, 50, 53, 54, 56, 59, 60, 62. 
Bread Street, London, 169, 176. 
Brean's, 8,-335. 
Brett, Captain, 146; Dowling, Brett, 

and Hardingham, 169, 174, 185. 
Brice, Wheler, and Higginson, 155. 
Brimmer, Martin, 345. 



356 



The Descendants of Hugh Amory, 



Brindley, 2i8. 

Brislington, Briselton, Busselton, 14, 20, 
21, 23, 104, 106, 316, 334, 338. 

Bristol, Brightstowe, Bristow, 10-22, 
45, 47, 48, 52, 79, 88, 107, 124, 
128, 140, 165, 169, 204, 313, 316, 
318, 335, 337, 338; Bristol Back, 
15 ; Museum and Library, 338. 

Britain, 58, 153. 

Britwell, 290, 291. 

Bromfield Street, Boston, 345. 

Broughton, Charles, 151. 

Brown, Captain, 187, 204, 221. 

Bruce, Captain, 155, 156. 

Brussels, 217, 221, 225, 230, 236, 238. 

Brutessayshe, 312. 

Brutos, 41. 

Bucknell, 290, 293, 299, 300-305, 309, 
310. 

Buckinghamshire, 285, 291, 299, 300, 

301, 304,305-. 
Bullingdon, 309. 

"Bumper," the, 90. 

Bunch of Grapes Tavern, 89-91, 93, 

119. 
"Buncle, John," 107, 108, 1 1 8, 263. 
Bunratty Castle, 42, 44, loi, 104, 343 ; 

town of, 45, 343 ; Thomas Amory 

of, 42-46, 50, 52, 62, 65, 70, 88, 

93, 94, 97, 99-101, 104-106, 342. 
Burgess-Book, 10, 11. 
Burgh, de, 306, 308. 
Burke, Edmund, 126, 137, 138, 170; 

Sir J. Bernard, 45, 266, 267, 277, 

280, 288, 342. 
Burnet, William, 344. 
Burrington, 2,9, 303, 312. 
Burton, Alexander de, 298 ; Emma, 

298. 



Burton, E. W., 113. 
Butler, John, 152. 
Buxton and Enderby, 176. 

Caesar, 39. 

Caen, 288. 

Calef or Calfe, Captain, 142, 143, 183. 

Cales, 55, 58. 

Callahan, Captain, 171, 172, 182, 183, 

200, 204. 
Calthorp, 306. 
Camvill, Richard de, 296. 
Cambridge, 7 ; Cambridge, Mass., 202. 
Campbell (Atkinson and Campbell), 

132; Cohn, 229; Mr., 79. 
Canada, 191, 209, 251, 267, 318; 

Canada Bill, 191, 199; Canadians, 

191. 
Canaries, the, 26. 
Canm, John, 172. 
Canterbury, 310. 
Cape Cod, 175, 176, 257 ? 
Capel (William), 2 ; Arthur, Earl of 

Essex, 25, 341. 
Carleton, Sir Guy, 267. 
Carlisle, 304. 
Carlyle (Thomas), 343. 
Carnew, Captain, 219. 
Carolina, 28, 30, 32, 36, 45, 51, 53, 

54, 64, 65, 343- 
Carpenter, Nathan, Captain, 219. 
Cartwright, Captain, 124. 
Cary (John), 336. 
Casco, Maine, 89. 
Castle Street, Boston, 95, 109; Castle, 

the, Boston Harbour, 121, 122, 

165. 
Catherine, Queen, 24. 
Cerberus, the, 205. 



Indi 



ex. 



1>S7 



Ceylon, 1 15. 

Chadlington, 312. 

Chadwell, Captain, 164. 

Chancery, 3, 14, 17, 20, 45, 106. 

Chandler, Judge, 199; Rufus, 199. 

Chandos, 309, 310. 

Channell, Cicely, 280 ; Robert, 279. 

Chapel, Bishop's Nymet, 268, 270, 

271. 
Chappell, Ann (Amory), 22, 99. 
Charles. See King. 
Charleston, S. C, 28, 30, 32, 34-36, 

39, 40, 61, 64, 69, 70, 72, 74-76, 

78, 80, 85, 89, 90, 98, 100, 273, 

279. 
Charlestown, Mass., 318, 338. 
Charlton, 299. 
"Chatham," the, 231. 
Checkley's Meeting House, 249. 
Cheshire, 285, 313. 
Chester, 308, 313,314- 
Chesterton, 288, 290, 294, 296, 299, 

302, 310. 
Chetwood, 302. 
Chicago, 262. 
China, 62. 

Chinnock, West, 311. 
ChoUet, 185. 
Chosin, 340. 
Chouvet, 238. 
Christ Church, Boston, 344 ; Dublin, 

27, 44, 94, 342 ; Oxford, 282, 284. 
Clare College, 308. Clare, County, 45, 

104. de Clare, Elizabeth, 286, 

306, 308, 310 ; Gilbert, 281, 306. 

Clare, Viscount, 43. 
Clarence, Duke of, 258. 
Clark, Captain, 97 ; Elizabeth, 105 ; 

Mary, loi, 274. 



Cleeve, 334. 

"Cleopatra," the, 143. 

Clerke, John, 274. 

Cleveland, Duchess of, 288. 

Cleves, Anne of, 313. 

Clifton, 316. 

Clowters, 38, 39. 

Clyvedon, Matthew de, 308, 309. 

Coates, John, Samuel, and Thomas, 
132, 141. 

Cock, Catherine, 169; John, 169; 
Captain Richard, 39. 

Cockfylde, Agnes, 280. 

Codman (John), Captain, 251 ; Henry, 
118; Richard, 253, 254. 

Coffin, Ann (Holmes), 109, 203 ; Anne 
(m. Deblois), 209, 344; Caleb, 
144; Damaris (Gayer), 91, iio; 
Elizabeth (m. Amory), 109, 248, 
262,317; Isaac, Admiral, 91, 251, 
258, 259; John, General, 91 ; 
John of Quebec, 1 10, 144, 2og, 
217, 218, 248, 250 ; John, son of 
William and Mary (Aston), 175; 
Mary (Aston), called "Sister Cof- 
fin," "Molly," "Mrs.," 217, 218, 
250; Mrs. (Isabella Child), 218; 
Nathaniel of Nantucket, 91, iio; 
son of William and Ann, iio, 
181, 203, 209, 218, 250 ; Thomas 
Aston, 91 ; William, son of Na- 
thaniel and Damaris, 91, 95, 103, 
109, 203, 345; son of William 
and Ann, no, 203, 209. 

Cokin, Sir William, 308. 

Colchester, 212. 

Coldron Mill, 312. 

Cole, Captain, 152. 

Colepeper, 18. 



358 



The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 



College, of Arms, 275, 277, 280, 281, 
283, 287 ; of Heralds, 267, 268, 
274; College of Arms, Dublin, 
280 ; College Green, 318. 

Colleton, Governor, 30. 

Collins, author of" Peerage," 267, 268 ; 
Mr., 210-213, 215 ; Ezra, 211. 

CoUinson (pron. CoUison), author of 
"History of Somersetshire," 98, 
269, 304. 

Colman, Rev. Benjamin, 94, 343. 

Colmer, Mary, 269. 

Columbia, S. C, 273. 

Commissary of the Bishop of London 
(Dr. Bray), 40; (Mr. Price), 90. 

Common, the, Boston, 147, 190. 

Common Council (Bristol), 13, 15, 19; 
(Galway), 25. 

Commons of America, 234; of Old Eng- 
land, 234. 

Compton, Captain Ellis, iii. 

Concert Hall, 259. 

Congresbury, 335. 

Congress of the United States, 230, 231. 

Congress Street, 93, 119. 

Connaught, 342. 

Connedicut, 193, 240, 244. 

Connor, Fitzm., 229. 

" Constitution," the, 256. 

Cooper, Dr., 167, 236. 

Copley, John Singleton, 163. 

Corfe, 306. 

Cork, 217, 340, 341. 

Cormick, Captain, U.S. N., 256, 257. 

Corn Hill, Boston, 221. 

Cornwall, County of, 315; Earl of, 301, 

303- 

Cornwallis, Lord, 227. 

Cottrell, 14, 43. 



Courand, 59. 

Cowley, 292. 

Cowpen, 38, 39. 

Coynes, or Connies, 22 ; Samuel, 105. 

Cranford, de, 302. 

Creagh, Ann Thompson, ah., 105. 

Cressewell, 295. 

" Creighton," the, 210, 

Cripplegate, 315. 

Crispin, Captain, 24, 340 ; Milo, 291. 

Croker, Mrs. (Elizabeth Amory), 42. 

Crokern Pill, 303, 305. 

Cromwell, Oliver, 16, 18, 280, 341. 

Crooke, Samuel, 4, 7, 8. 

Croskeys, John, 34, 76 ; Joseph, 33, 34, 

76; Margaret, 34. 
Crowfield Hall, Suffolk, 129. 
Cubid, 41. 
Culm Stock, 315. 
Culpeper, Cullpep, 17. 
Cumming, 38. 
Cutler, James, 345. 

Dabadie, 217. 

Dalcho, 98. 

Dale, William, 3. 

Dallarde, 253. 

Dairy mple. Colonel, 166. 

Damer, Joseph and John. See under 

Amory. 
"Dartmouth," the, 175. 
Davies, Captain, 145. 
Davis, Captain, 69, 188 ; Thomas, 181. 
Davison, Captain, 202. 
Dawlin, Ellison, 27, 
Dawson (Rayner, Dawson and Co.), 132, 

"43^ 149- 
Deblois, Ann (Coffin), 209; George, 
236; Gilbert, 136, 209, 214, 218, 



Indi 



ex. 



359 



252, 259; Lewis, 249, 259; 

Stephen, 253, 259; William, 252, 

254; Mrs. William, 254. For note 

on the family, 344. 
Decemmanestrate, 294. 
Declaratory Aft, 138, 235, 241. 
Dean, Forest of, 306. 
Deerfield, Mass., 317. 
De Grandian, 222. 
Delacroix, 253. 
De Lisle, Christian, 305 ; Giles and 

Alice, 304, 305, 309. 
Deming, Mrs., 212. 
Denison, Nathaniel and Robert, 151, 

153, 199- 
Dent, Isaac, 179, 203; (Pearse, Pryce, 

and Dent), I 70. 
Depreciation AcSt, 232. 
Derney, Philip, 335. 
Desbrow, i.e., Desborough, Major Gen- 
eral, 9. 
Despencer, 286, 303, 306, 307. 
Deverson, Captain, 129, 136, 144, 155. 
Devonshire and Reeve, 127, 135, 136, 

138, 140. 
Devonshire, I, 267, 268, 270, 271, 285, 

312,315,316. 
Dingle, 22, 339. 

Diredory, the French, 252, 255. 
Dock Square, Boston, uo, 118. 
Dodsley, 172. 
D'Oily, Edith, 292, 293 ; Henry, 295, 

298, 301 ; Henry, junior, 293, 298; 

Robert, 290, 291. 
Dollinge, 337. 
" Dolphin," the, 176. 
Dorchester, Baron (see Carleton), 251, 

267 ; Earl of (see Milton), 44, 

267 ; Heights, 208. 



Dorsetshire, 44, 268, 304, 314. 

Douglas, William, 199. 

" Dove," the, 39. 

Dover, 19, 310. 

Dowling and Brett, 174; Dowling, 
Brett, and Hardingham, 169, 185, 
199, 230 ; Dowling and Son, 246. 

Doyley, the fee of, 302 ; D'Oyly, 
Henry, 298. 

Drake, S. A., 119; S. G., 119, 343. 

Drummond, 125. 

Dublin, 23-27, 29, 34, 42, 44, 53, 94, 
105, III, 114, 268, 270, 272,274, 
275,280,314, 315,318,341,342. 

Dundas, Captain, 200. 

Dunkin (John), 289, 294, 300. 

Dunkirk, 56. 

Dunlap and Wilson, 210. 

Dunton, John, 90. 

Durrel, Captain, 97. 

Durroy, Elizabeth (m. Amory), 45, 103. 

Durston, 315. 

Easton in Gordano, 303, 305. 

Edinburgh, 169. 

Edward, Prince (Duke of Kent), 260. 

Edolls, Ann, 98. 

Edmondson, 280, 281. 

Elam, Samuel, 1 70; Messrs., 124. 

Eleanor, sister of Henry HI., 264. 

Eley, 36. 

Eliot, 79; Mrs., 157, 160, 165, 216; 
Samuel, 156-158, 160-162, 164, 
166, 168, 170, 210, 216, 246. 

Elliatt, Henry, 11 ; Robert, ii; Elliot, 
Ann (Longe), 1 1. 

Elliott, Ann (m. Amory), 11, 17, 22, 
25 ; Ann, or Anne, wife of Robert, 
10, II, 22, 25; Robert, 10, 11, 



360 



The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 



337 ; Robert, son of Robert and 
Ann, 24; William, 17. 

Elyas the miller, 301. 

Emery, Emmerich, Emmery, Emory. 
See under Amory. 

Emmanuel College, 7. 

Emmerson, Mrs., 250. 

Emmons, Mrs., 87. 

Emperor, the, 59 ; (Napoleon), 260 ; 
Empire (the French), 261. 

Enderby (Buxton and Enderby), 176. 

England, 48, 50, 56, 58, 73, 75, 78, 80, 
97> 98, 107, 114, 120, 122, 125, 
126, 130, 133, 135, 139, 141, 147, 
156, 157, 181, 185, 190-192, 203- 
206, 212-214, 218, 235, 236, 239- 
241, 243, 245, 246, 248, 251, 252, 
255, 258, 261, 265, 275, 276, 287, 
288, 301, 303, 309, 336, 342, 344. 

English Continent (of America), 93. 

Ennis, 317. 

Ernst, Miss Helen Amory, 279. 

Erving, John, 237. 

Essex, county of, 283, 291 ; Earl of 
(Capel), 25, 341 ; Earl of (Parlia- 
mentary General), 16. 

Essex Street, Boston, 122, 249. 

Eston-cum-Crolcane, 305. 

Europe, 50, no, iii, 227, 243, 252, 
260. 

European Magazine, 108, 1 18. 

Evesham, 265. 

Ewyas, 306. 

Exeter, 281. 

Exmoor, 310. 

Eyer (Milloway and Eyer), 125, 132. 

Eynsham, 290, 299. 

Eyre, Benjamin and Co., 169; Eyre 
and Watts, 55. 



Faaor, 68, 88. 

Fairbaini, 282. 

Fairfax, General, 12, 15, 16. 

Falkland Islands, 171. 

Faneuil Hall, 121, 147. 

Faro, 57. 

Faulceshall (Vauxhall), 306, 307. 

Fayal, 47, 48, 63. 

Fludger, Samuel and Co., 125. 

Fluker, 124. 

Folger, Captain Tom, 226. 

Foord, Edmund, 7; William, 7. 

Forrest, 1 13. 

Fort Hill, 190. 

Foster, 335 ; James, 188. 

France, 42, 81, 209, 219, 227, 229,232, 

236, 245, 252, 253, 257, 260, 265, 

286, 300, 309, 344. 
Francis, 59. 
Franklin, Benjamin, 82, 158, 235, 236; 

Michael, 133. 
Frazer, Nathan, 260 ; Rebecca, 260. 
Frazier (Lane, Son and Frazier), 151. 
Freeman (Edward A.), 2; Captain, 136, 

142, 144; Freman, Robert, 76. 
French Convention, 251. 
Fringford, 282. 
Frolesworth, 291. 

Fulewelle, 290, 293 ; Adeline de, 293. 
Federalists, 260. 
Fencote, 305. 
Ferrers, John de, 308. 
Fiennes, Colonel, 12, 16. 
Fidling, Francis, 41. 
First Consul, the, 256. 
Fisher, Francis, 58, 59; William, 54, 

58, 59- 
Fistler, James, 132. 
Fitz Alan, John, 302, 305. 



Indi 



ex. 



361 



Fitzgerald, John, 339. 

Fitz Lawrence, William, 310. 

Fitzmaurice, Earl of Kerry, 264, 346 ; 

Elizabeth (m. Amory), 23, 42, 275 ; 

Raymond, 43, 106, 263; Patrick, 

23, 346. 
Fitz Nigel, 303. 
" F. L. G.," 89. 
" Flamborough," the, 78, 79. 
Flanders, 245, 309. 
Flawarth, 305. 
Fleet, Captain, 124, 125. 
Floating Harbour, Bristol, 15. 
Fulnetby, Sir John de, 310. 
Funeholt, 292. 

Gage, General, 180, 1 8 1, 202, 203. 

Gait, Robert de, 298. 

Galaspie, Captain, 132-134. 

Gale, William, 142. 

Galway, 21, 25, 28, 43, 44, 71, 88, 97, 

340-342. 
Galy, 18, 23, 31^3, 339. 
Garriearde, or Garryard, 22, 105, 339. 
Gealey, 1 19. 
Gencham, 181. 

General Court (Massachusetts), 91, 138. 
" Gentleman's Magazine," 263, 264. 
George. See King. 
Georgia, 254. 
Geronio, 50. 

Gerrish, Benjamin, John, Samuel, 343. 
Gerry, 212. 

Geyer, Frederick William, 259, 260 ; 
' junior, 260 ; Nancy (m. Amory), 

259. 
Gibbs, Colonel, 39. 
Gibraltar, 50. 
Gibbons, John, and Sons, 169. 

3 



Giifin (Townsend and Giffin), 185. 

Gilbert, 290 ; Sir John, 342. 

Gill (Wright and Gill), 124. 

Gillam, Mrs. Jane, 148. 

Gislebt, 290, 292. 

Glasgow, 169, 302. 

Glassford, Gordon and Co., 135 ; James, 

135- 

Glastonbury, 3, 31 1, 313. Glastoniensis, 
Joannes, 312. 

Glendy or Glendie,Dr. John, 25,26,342. 

Gloucester, 306; Earl of, 281; Massa- 
chusetts, 89. 

Gloucestershire, 268, 282, 288, 307. 

Godin and Conseillere, 83, 84 ; Stephen, 

73- 
Codington, 309, 313. 
Godmanston, 268, 269. 
Godstow, 292, 296, 297, 302, 311. 
Good, Edward, and Co., 185. 
Goosecreek, 81. 
Gordon (Captain?), 200 ; Glassford, 

Gordon and Co., 135. 
Gouy, le Capitaine, 48. 
Gragg, 250. 
Graham, 62. 

Granary Burying Ground, 168. 
Grangebridge, 42. 
Gray, 254. 
Great Britain, 53, 59, 128, 131, 139, 

152, 153. 154, 156, 180, 184, 186, 

187, 190, 192, 193, 195, 197-200, 

205, 218, 219, 231, 241-243, 245. 
Great Mylton, 281. 
Great St. Helen's, 169. 
Greene, Benjamin, no; John, iiO; 

Katherine (m. Amory, q.v.\ iio; 

Rufus, no, 259, 346; Thomas, 

IIO; William, 220. 



361 



The Descenda?Jts of Hugh Amory. 



Greenleaf, 134; Stephen, 142, 149; 

William, 149. 
Grenville, 122, 126. 
Gridley, Richard, 132. 
Griffin, 135. 

Guerrish, Madam, 94, 343. 
Guinea, 53, 60. 

Haden, Captain, 220, 221. 

Hakeway, 315. 

Halghton, 306. 

HaKfax, Nova Scotia, 113, 147, 211, 
217, 218, 236, 260. 

Hall, Captain, 143, 149, 164. 

Hameldon, 300. 

Hancock, John, 142, 147, 163, 210- 
212. 

Handfield, Major, 218. 

Handlo, de, 303. 

Hankey, 132. 

" Hannah," the, 146, 148. 

Hardingham, 169, 185. 

Harleian Society, 270, 281, 283. 

Harlow, Captain, 253. 

Harris (Smith, Harris and Hatfieldj, 
169, 185. 

Harrison (Barnard and Harrison), 131, 
I33> 137; Barnard and Spragg, 
142-144, 146, 148; Gilbert, 199; 
and Wilson, 169; Harrisons and 
Ansley, 173, 176, 177, 179, 180, 
182-184, 186, 188, 200-202, 204- 
207,209, 213, 238, 247. 

Hart ah. Blacker, Thomas, 20. 

Hartley, Thomas, 169. 

Harwich, 58. 

Harvard College, 92, 109. 

Hasted, 17. 

Hastings, 290; Mrs. Ehzabeth, 38. 



Hatch, Captain, 143. 

Hatfield, 169, 185. 

Hatton Street, London, 345. 

Havard, 185. 

Hawkesworth, Mary, 317. 

Hayley, George, 127, 142, 144, 150, 

161,214; " Hayley," the, I 76. 
Headington, 305, 309. 
Headland, Captain John, 57. 
Heale's Close, 5. 
Henry. See King. 
Hercules, 38. 
Hereford, 337. 
Hertfordshire, 306. 
Herreys, 280. 
Hewetson, Michael, 27. 
Higgins, 1 12. 
Higginson, 155. 
High Littleton, 311. 
Hildersley, Captain R. N., 77, 79. 
Hill, 8 ; Captain, i8i; Charles, 79. 
Hills, Elizabeth, 315. 
Hinckley, 225. 
Hobbey, Sir Charles, go. 
Hobbs, John, 313. 
Hodgson, John, 220-222. 
Holbeche, 306. 
Holbrook, Abiezer, 89. 
Holland, 58, 59, 219, 229, 231, 232, 

236, 245, 252. 

Hollis Street, 109. 

Hollingbourne, 1 7. 

Holmes, Ann (m. Coffin), 91, 109; 
Ebenezer, 91, 92 ; Francis, 76, 78, 
80, 89, 90, 92, 97, 119; Francis, 
junior, 76, 82, 100, 279; Isaac, 
95, 102; Nathaniel, 95; Rebecca 
(m. Amory), 91-95, 100-103, 105- 
107, 109, 119, 167, 168 i Rebecca 



Inde> 



363 



(Wharfe), 89, 91-93, 102; Wil- 
liam, 76. 

Holt, Captain, 55. 

Hood, Sir Samuel, Captain, Admiral, 
and Viscount, 165, 173, 203, 258, 

332. 
Hopton, Sir Ralph, 8. 
Horte, Edmond, 337. 
Hoskins, Mary (Amory), 22, 71, 274. 
Hospital of St. John the Baptist, 292, 

301. 
House of Commons, 45 ; of Lords, 44. 
Houston, Ann (m. Ramsey), 26, 28, 29, 

42, 52, 72, 97, 98, 100, 103, 107 ; 

David, 26, 27 ; David, junior, 26, 

97, 100 ; Elen, 27 ; George, 26, 

27, 100; Humphrey, 26, 29; 

Maran, 27 ; Rebecca, widow (m. 

secondly, Amory), 26-29, 94, 1 02. 
Howe, General, 205, 208, 209 ; Robert, 

73,81. 
Howes, Job, 37. 
Hudson, 66. 
Hughes, Henry, 55, 59; Hughes and 

Whitelock, 143. 
Huish, Mark, 175, 182, 183, 199, 204. 
Hull, Captain, 148 ; Isaac, 256. Hull, 

Yorkshire, 164. 
Hunter and Bayley, 142. Hunter, Cap- 
tain, 124, 131. 
Huntington, Benjamin, 244. 
Hurdecote, 31 1. 
Huske, John, 122. 
Hutchins, 267, 268. 
Hutchinson, Thomas, 121, 126, 138, 

165, 181, 195. 
Hyde, Nathan, 155; Robert, 155. 

Ilminster, 9, 315. 



India (East India) Company, 182. 
Indians, Red, 41, 65, 71, 75, 76. 
Ingerson, James, 34 ; Margaret, 34. 
Inman, Susanna, 258, 332. 
Insula, Egidio de (Giles de Lisle), 303. 
Ireland, 14, 20, 21, 23, 97, 103, 107, 

iir> 213, 234, 235, 263, 275,317, 

318, 339, 340-342. 
Irving, 213 ; Washington, 261. 
Italy, 264. 
Izard, Ralph, 37. 

Jacobs, Philip, 142. 
Jacobson, Captain, 151. 
Jackson, 162; Captain, 124. 
JafFrey, or Jaffreys, George, 61, 62. 
Jamaica, 28, 34, 71. Jamaica Plain, 

239- 
James, 176. James Island, 90. 

Jamieson, Nicholas, 135. 

Jarvis, Captain, 137, 146, 148, 149, 
209 ; Philip, 209. 

Jeffreys, William, 79. 

Jen kens, Major, 9. 

Jenkins, Eliza, 344. 

Jennings, 221. 

Jervis, Humphrey, 25, 342. 

Jessop, 16. 

Jesuits, 63. 

John, 69. 

"John," the, 251. 

Johnson, Captain, 152; last Proprietary 
Governor S. C, 75, 77-79 ; second 
Royal Governor S. C, 86 ; John, 
228 ; Joseph, 38, 98, 273 ; Sir 
Nathaniel, 38. 

Johonnot, Peter, 208. 

Johonnots, the Miss, 218. 

Jones, 165. 



364 The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 



Jones, Havard and Jones, 185. 
Joy, Benjamin, 251. 
"Julius Caesar," the, 21 1. 

Kame, 176, 177. 

Kennebec, 232. 

Kennett, 289, 293, 295, 296, 300, 301, 
310. 

Kerry, Baron, 23, 335, 339, 346 ; the 
County, 22, 24, 104, 105, 107, 
280, 339, 341 ; Earl of, 264, 346 ; 
Knight of, 339. 

Key Island, 343. 

Keybeg Island, 343. 

Keynsham, 300, 311. 

Kiily and Sime, 151. 

Kincaid, Alexander, 169. 

King jEthelred the Unready, 290 ; 
Swegen, 290 ; Canute, 290 ; Wil- 
liam the Conqueror, 287 ; . . , . 
Henry I., 294 ; Stephen, 292 ; 
Henry II., 264,284; Richard I., 
285 ; John, 300 ; Henry III., 264, 
287, 294, 301 ; Edward I., 302, 
303; Edward II., 282, 285, 286 
(as Prince, 303), 304-308; Ed- 
ward III.. 286, 308-310 . . . . 
Henry VI., 285; Edward IV.,' 

284 Henry VIII., 312, 313; 

.... James I., 272 ; Charles I., 
272, 337; Charles II., 19,21,270, 
339) 341 ; James II., 342 ; Wil- 
liam III., 50 ; .... George I., 76, 
77) 81, 342 ; George II., 285; 
George III., 128, I5i-i53) i59, 
181, 193, 194, 198, 205, 230,242, 

243- 
King, Gregory, 336. 

King's Chapel, Boston, 12O, 344. 



King of France, 81, 310. 

King Street, Boston, 89, 91, 1 19-122, 

^135, i47> 166. 
Kinsale, 340. 
Kippen and Son, 134. 
Knaresborough, 306. 
Knights Templars, 291, 292, 299. 
Knox, Mrs., 345. 

Lacy, Sir John, 14, 21 ; Rowland, 21. 

Lafayette, Marquis de, 260. 

Lancaster, Earl of, 286, 306-308 ; in 

Massachusetts, 203. 
Lane and Co., 124; Sir George, 341 ; 

Son and Frazier, 151. 
Lang, 169. 
Langford, 6, 336. 
Latin School, 109. 
Lawrence, Walter, 337. 
Lawson, Andrew, 34. 
Lazy Hill, 27, 29, 97. 
Learned, Colonel, 208. 
Leary, Daniel, 62. 
Leatham, Walker and Co., 145. 
Lechmere, Lord, 99, 343 ; Thomas, 

94, 99, 343- 
Lecky, W. E. H., 339. 
Lee, Richard, 281. Lee, Wright and 

and James, 1 76. 
Leeds, 128. 
Leghorn, 59, 261. 
Leicester, Countess of, 264 ; Earl of, 

264, 265 ; Leicestershire, 291, 306, 

311,313, 314- 
Leigh, of Ridge, 269. 

Leigh, of Stoneleigh, 23 ; Sir Thomas, 

23- 
Leland, 309, 338, 

Leonard, 130. 



Indi 






365 



Lever's New England Coffee House, 168. 
Leverett, go. 
Lewis, Job, 94, 344. 
Lexington, 203. 
" Liberty," the, 147 
LifFey, the, 25, 27. 
Lilestock, 311. 

Limerick, 88, 102, 112, 113, 274. 
Lincoln, 295, 300. 
Lincoln County, Kennebec, 232. 
Lindal's Row, 93. 

Linzee, Captain John, R.N., 258, 332, 
333 ; Hannah Rowe (m. Amory), 

258, 332- 

Lisbon, 52, 54-57, 59, 60. 

Listowel, 23. 

Littlemore, 291. 

Liverpool, 128, 318. 

Lixnaw, 23. 

Lloyd, 218. 

Locke, John, 30, 31. 

Locking, 5, 336. 

LodiTe, author of the " Peerage," 267, 
^288. 

Lombardy, 260. 

London, 23, 30, 57, 58, 60, 62, 74, 78, 
88, 97, 102, 107, 108, 114, 116, 
127, 141, 156, 158, 163-165, 168, 
169, 182, 210, 217, 219, 230, 240, 
251, 263, 275, 276, 281, 282, 284, 
3035 305, 3J7> 345; Bishop of, 
296. 

Longe, Ann, 11 ; Roger, 11. 

Long Wharf, 343. 

Lord Palatine, 45 ; Lords Proprietors 
of Carolina, 30, 35, 74-76, 78, 86. 

Louis XIV., 50. 

" Louis Renas," 264. 

Lowder, 217, 218. 



Lowell (John), 220, 230. 

Lower, 272, 273. 

Loxton, 3, 318, 334. 

Luce, xMadam, 94, 343 ; Peter, 343. 

Ludwell, Colonel, 31. 

LufFe, Joan (m. Backwell), 6, 7 ; John, 

6, 7, 336- 
Lusignan, 287. 
Lutterworth, 306, 314. 
Luttrell, Katharine, 44 ; Simon, 44. 
Lyde, Captain, 162, 170, 188, 192, 

199; N. B., 213. 
" Lydia," the, 145, 203. 
Lynde, Benjamin, 91. 

McCrady, 28, 343. 

McDonnell, 43. 

Machias, 217. 

McMahon, 104, 114; Lucy, 112, 117. 

118, 280 ; Thomas Amory, 114, 

116, 1 17. 
McMasters', 162. 
Mackrill Lane, 89. 
Mackworth, Arthur, 89 ; Rebecca, 89 ; 

Mackworth's or Mackey's Point, 

89. 
iVIacy, William, 7. 
Madeira, 48, 49, 57, 61. 
Magdalen College, 284, 292. 
Maine, 97. 
Manchester, 168. 
Manduit, Israel, 181. 
Mangerton, Mount, 339. 
Marblehead, 200, 202, 203. 
Marie Antoinette, 260. 
Marlborough, Duke of, 50. 
"Mars," the, 225. 
Marseilles, 54. 
Marsh, 305; Marsh Gibwyn, 305, 309. 



366 



'The Descendants of Hugh Amory. 



Marshall, Captain, 130-133; Dr., 36, 

39, 40. 

Marston, Dr. Edward, 40 ; Mr., 246. 

Martha's Vineyard, 70. 

Martock, 311. 

Massachusetts, 1 16, 180, 216, 217, 240, 
243, 317, 318, 337; Assembly, 
123, 125, 216, 217, 242; General 
Court, 225, 232, 235, 237, 247; 
Legislature, 239. 

Massacre of the Swiss Guards, 253. 

Mather, Cotton, 91, 95. 

Mathewson, John, 169. 

Matroses, the, 90. 

Mayhew, 120, 138. 

Mayor's Calendar, Bristol, 15. 

Mayor of the Staple, 23. 

Mazogan, 57. 

Meaders, 38. 

Mein, 160, 162. 

"Melampus," the, 251. 

Meliken, Captain, 130. 

Mendip Hills, i, 310. 

Merchant Venturers, 11 -13, 18, 20, 128. 

Mercury, 38; Mercury Volante, 55-58, 
60. 

Merkyate, 298. 

Merton, 299. 

Micauli, 261. 

Middelbourg, 176. 

Middle Temple, 43, 275. 

Middleton, Arthur, 28, 49, 51, 54, 64, 
66-68, 70, 72-74, 77, 80-86, 88, 
100, 102, 343; junior, 129; Henry, 
83, 129; Nathaniel Russell, 129; 
Sarah (Amory), 49, 51, 66, 68, 70, 
73, 81, 82, 99, 129; of Stockeld, 
67. 343; Thomas, 76, 83, 129; 
William, 129. 



Mifflin, Thomas, 157, 160, 161, 212, 

215, 216. 
Miles, 94, 344. 
Milloway and Eyer, 125, 132. 
Milton Abbas, 267 ; Milton, Baron, 44, 

263, 266-268, 272,275 ; in Massa- 
chusetts, 228, 343. 

Minorca, 50. 

Mobile, 72. 

Molasses Adl, 158, 159. 

Mollineux, 141. 

Monke or Monck, Elizabeth, 90; George, 
90. 

Monkesham, 305, 309, 310. 

Monmouth, Duke of, 336, 

de Montfort, Amory (Amauri), 264 ; 
Amaury, 264; Richard, 265 ; Si- 
mon, 264, 265 ; Montfort I'Amauri, 
264 ; de Montfort de Beldesert, 

264, 304. 

Moore, Captain, 210; James, 37, 77- 

79 ; Roger, 76. 
Moors, the, 57. 
Morgan, 2r6. 

Morse, Dr., 318; Richard, C, 318. 
Mortimer, Reginald de, 301. 
Moseley, Edward, 96. 
Mullin, Alan, 99, loi. 
Myles, Samuel, 344. 
Myssenden, 312. 

Nancy, 41. 
Nantes, 227, 344. 
Nantucket, 1 10, 209, 258, 259. 
Naples, 58. 
Napoleon, 260. 
Neck, the, Boston, 123. 
Negro slaves, 38, 39, 41, 53, 59. 66, 6g, 
71.94,96,97- 



Index. 



367 



Newbury, Mass., 211, 221 ; Newbury 

Street, Boston, 259. 
Newcastle, 305, 306. 
New England, 49, 61, 62, 66, 67, 87, 

107, 1 10, 178, 190, 216, 262, 337 ; 

Coffee House, 168; Courant, 82. 
Newell, Mary (Amory), 1 10. 
Newell, Timothy, 1 10, 136, 142, 208, 

236, 345- 

Newfoundland, 60. 

New Hampshire, 97, 122, 246. 

New London, loi. 

Newport, R. I., 203, 237. 

Newton, Captain, 62. 

New York, 49, 80, 87, 88, 97, iii, 
125, 129, 141, 211, 217, 221, 228- 
230, 240, 241, 243, 262, 317, 318, 

344- 
Nicoll, Captain, 161. 
North, Lord, 170, igi, 192, 241. 
North America, 127. 
Northamptonshire, 308. 
North Carolina, 96. 
North Church, the, 343. 
North End, the, 121, 123. 
Northfield, 131, 
Northgate, 309. 
Normandy, 264, 287, 288, 291. 
Norwich, 169; in Connecticut, 244. 
Nova Scotia, 180, 318. 

Obbeleye (Ubley), 303. 

O'Brien, Earl of Thomond, 44, 45. 

O'Connor, Charles, 42 ; Julia, 42, 105- 

107, 118, 287, 316; O'Connor 

Kerry, Charles Roe, 42. 
Oddington or Ottendun, 298, 299, 304. 
Olive, 152. 
Oliver (Vere Langford), 317. 



Ommaney and Co., 181. 

Orange Street, Boston, 95, 109. 

Oriel College, 284. 

Ormerod, "History of Cheshire," 313. 

Ormond, Captain, 134, 135 ; Duke of, 

24, 340, 
Oseney Abbey, 291-294, 298, 301, 302. 
Osse, William del, 299. 
Otis (James), 120. 
Otmoore, 299. 
Ottery, 313. 
Oursei, Madame, 54, 96 ; Miss Betty, 

54; Nicholas, 46-49, 51, 53, 60, 

88, 95, 102. 
Over Compton, 314. 
Owen Thomas, 164. 
Oxford, 291, 292, 300-302, 305, 344; 

Earl of, 312; Oxfordshire, 281, 

282, 284, 285, 291, 303, 305, 310, 

312. 

Pacquereau, 48. 

Palermo, 261. 

Pall Mall, 106. 

Paine, Christopher, 3. 

Palmer, Captain, 83. 

de Parco, Sir Thomas, 291. 

Park Street, 118, 168, 258. 

Parker, Daniel, 254. 

Paris, 252, 253, 260, 261. 

Parliament, 12, 19, 127, 138, 139, 151- 
153, 180, 182, 187, 189, 191, 192, 
196, 197, 202, 204, 230, 234, 235, 
240, 248, 306, 308; of Ireland, 24, 

33^^ 339- 
Parphey, 14, 18, 19. 
Parsons, 148, 315 ; Moses, 142. 
Paternoster Row, 172. 
Paulet, Lord, 12. 



368 



The Desceitdants of Hugh Amory. 



Pavely, Walter de, 308. 

Payne, Edward, no, 142, 157, 167, 

214; Hon. Mr., 199; Rebecca 

(Amory), no, 212, 250 ; R. T., 

221 ; William, 199. 
Peace of Utrecht, 59. 
Peare, Captain, 79. 
Pearse, Pryce and Dent, I 70. 
Peche, Matthew, 309. 
Pairs, Peternell (m. Amerye), 314, 318. 
Peloquin, 48. 
Pemberton, 90. 
Pembroke, Earl of, 307. 
Penobscot, 217. 
Pennsylvania, 49, 87. 
Penny, 221. 
Perez, Antonio, 52. 
Petersheys, Devon, 312. 
Philadelphia, 88, 92, 102, 1 1 1, 162, 163, 

185, 201, 210, 212, 262. 
Philip of Anjou, 50. 
Phillips, Nathaniel and Faulkner, 168, 

199. 
" Phoenix," the, 79. 
Pico Flores, 61. 
Pickering, 252. 
Piety, T., 172. 
Pigeon, Major, 90. 
Pinckney, 252. 
Pirates, 74. 
Piscataqua, 61, 70. 
Pitte, Maud, 337. 

Pitts, Edward, 133, 152; James, 90. 
Pitt, William, 138. 

Plenty* 334- 

Plessis, Hugh de, 298, 302, 303. 
Plumley or Plomley, 5, 6, 336. 
Plumstead (or Plimpton) Perry, 308- 
310. 



Plymouth, 58, 308, 311 ; in Massa- 
chusetts, 188, 213. 

Pocotaligo, 75. 

Poignant, de, Thomas, 300, 

Pompev, 41. 

Ponta Delgada, 56. 

Popham, Sir John, 12. 

"Poor Jack," the, 62. 

Portmorone, 50. 

Portsmouth, 59, 60 ; in New Hamp- 
shire, 70. 

Port Plate, 256. 

Portugal, 58, 59, 286. 

Post Office, Boston, 1 19. 

Power, Sir Walter, 282, 304. 

Prage, 56. 

Preble, Commodore, 257. 

Price, E., 221. 

Priestley, John and Sons, 199 ; William, 
185. 

Prime, Richard, and Co., 169, 185, 201, 
205, 237. 

Protedor, the, 270. 

Providence, R.I., 184-186, 237, 262. 

Providence Purchase, the, no. 

Prussia, 50, 59, 343. 

Pryce, 170. 

Public Library, Charleston, 39. 

Public Record Office, Dublin, 44, 274. 

Purbeck, Forest of, 306. 

Pyrye (Woodperry), 297, 298, 301, 
303- 

Quaker Lane, 93, 119. 

Quantock Hills, 315. 

Quarry, Mrs., 28, 99. 

Quebec, 209, 217, 250, 258; Quebec 

Ad, 191. 
Queen: Elizabeth, 17, 271, 272, 285, 



Index. 



369 



339 ; Henrietta Maria, 337 ; Cath- 
erine, 24 ; Anne, 52, 86, 275 ; 
Vidtoria, 260. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 308. 
Ramsey, Ann (Houston, q. v.) ; His- 
torian of South Carolina, 37 ; 

James, 29,42, 51, 52,97, 'OO- 
Rashleigh, 152. 
Rat-trap, the, 33. 
Rawlins, Edward, 36. 
Rayner, Dawson, and Co., 132, 143, 

149, 199. 
Record Office, London, 284, 285. 
Reed, J., 212 ; Reed Island, 343. 
Reeks, the, 339. 
Reeve, William, 127. 
Reid, Patrick, 210. 
Revenue Afts, 159. • 

Rhett, Sarah, 35-37, 48, 51-53, 57, 64, 

65, 68, 71, 72, 73, 80-85, 278; 

William, 35-38, 49, 53, 64-74, 

76-78, 82, 83, 85. 
Rhode Island, 87, 88, 97, 102, 217, 

242. 
Rhodes, Captain, 52. 
Richard, King of the Romans, 293. 
Richardson, Captain, 213. 
Rietstap, 282. 
Rigals, 230. 
Roberts, Francis, 334. 
Robertson, General, 208. 
Robinson, Henry Crabb, 107. 
Robson, 278 ; Captain, 166. 
Rochester, 303. 
Rodney, Admiral, 108. 
Rogers, Samuel, 178, 21 1, 212, 238. 
Rokesmylle, 312. 
Rolls Office, I. 



Roosevelt, Anna Catherine (m. Amory), 

317- 
Ross, Captain, 210; William, 209. 
Rotch, Francis, 175. 
Rotherfield Greys, 305. 
Rowe, John, 126, 145, i8r, 258, 332, 

333- 

Rowlands, Robert, 335. 

Roxbury, 90, 221, 278, 279. 

Rupert, Prince, 12, 13, 16. 

Ruggles, Timothy, 181. 

Russell, Elizabeth, 337 ; Paul, 337 ; 
Richard, 337 ; Sarah, 337 ; Theo- 
dore, 342. 

Russia, 343. 

SafFee, 57. 

St. Alphege, 315. 

St. Amand, Almeric de, 310. 

St. Andrew's, Dublin, 27, 29 ; Wells, 

346. 
St. Ann's or St. Anne's, Brislington, 14, 

18, 20, 104, 106, 107, 338. 
St. Augustine, Florida, 75. 
St. Augustine's, London, 314. 
St. Brandon's Hill, 339. 
St. Cuthbert's, Wells, 3, 314, 346. 
St. Clement's, Oxford, 344. 
St. James's, Dingle, 339. 
St. John's, Glastonbury, 3, 31 1. 
St. Kitts, 317. 
St. Lawrence Jewry, 216. 
St. Loe, Jane, 268. 
St. Mary's, Wrington, 3. 
St. Michael's, Azores, 56, 57, 61 j 

Dublin, 25, 26, 342. 
St. Nicholas, Bristol, 10-16. 
St. Philip's, Charleston, 40, 74. 
St. Teath by Camelford, 283, 315. 



3 B 



37° 



The Descendants of Hugh Atnory. 



St. Walery, Honour of, 298. 

Salem, 182, 183, 188, 200, 202. 

Salisbury, no, 310. 

"Sally," the, 252, 256. 

Saltmore, 31 1. 

Sandford, 292. 

Sandhall, 306. 

" Sandwich," the, 257, 

Sargeaunt, John, 45. 

Savoy, 50, 59. 

Scotland, 234, 240, 245, 

Scott, Captain, 131, 133, 144, 145. 151, 
163, 170, 176, 200, 238; James, 
145. 

" Seahorse," the, 344. 

Selwood, 310. 

Sewall's Diary, 90. 

Sexington, 302, 309. 

Shaley, Captain, 176, 

Shand, Captain, 144. 

Shapley, Captain, 177. 

Sheafte, Mrs., 218, 250, 

Sheffield, 169, 201. 

Sheppard, Captain, 205, 

Shrewsbury, Ralph of, 313. 

Shronehill, 267. 

Shute, Governor, 97, 

Sime, 151. 

Simond and Hankey, 132, 

Simpson, 246. 

Sinnott, James, 338. 

Six Mile Bridge, 343, 

Skipwith, 253. 

Smith, 129,317; Captain, 162; Dodor, 
220 ; James, 94, 343 ; Madam, 
94; Richard, 163; Thomas, Land- 
grave, 40, 343 ,• Smith, Harris, and 
Hatfield, 169, 185, 199. 

Smuggling A6ls, 120. 



Somerby, H. G., 1, 2, 271, 280, 281, 

313, 315,318. 
Somerset House, 270. 
Somersetshire, i, 3, 4, 10, 98, 107, 128, 

268, 276, 283, 285, 291, 300, 304, 

305, 311-313, 315, 316, 339- 
Somerton, 31 1. 
Sons of Liberty, 123, 135. 
Sothell, 30, 31. 
South Carolina, 74, 82, 85, 88, 90, 96, 

97, 102, 129, 273. 
South End, the, 96. 
South Molton, 268, 3 1 3-3 15. 
Southover, Wells, 314, 346. 
Spaight, Thomas, 111-113; William, 

114. 
Spain, 50, 75, 81, 171, 219, 232, 236. 
Spellesbury, 312. 
Spooner, 155. 
Stamp A(ft, i2i, 124, 128, 129, 131, 

132, 135, i37-'39- 
Staple, Mayor of the, 23 ; Merchants of 

the, 18. 
State Street, Boston, 119. 
Staundon, 306. 
Staunton, 302, 309, 310. 
Steevens, 218. 
Stephens, Thomas, 17. 
Sterling, 203. 
Stoakes, 17. 
Stockeld, 67, 344. 
Stockport, 169. 
Stoddard, Secretary, 256. 
StofFord, 305. 
Stogumber, 315. 
Stogursey (Stoke Courcy), 313. 
Stoke de I'lsle, 305. 
Stone, Captain, 150. 
Stoney, Airs. E., 38. 



i 



t 



Index. 



37^ 



Storey, Elias, 38 ; John, 38. 

Storrer, Charles, 221. 

Stratton, 299. 

Studdert, loi, 343. 

Sturminster Newton, 301. 

Sullivan, Hetty (Mehetable), 337; John, 

337 ; Richard, 337. 
Summer Street, 259, 344. 
Sumner, General, 239. 
Sutton, 311. 
Swedes, 62. 
Symmes, Captain, 171. 

Tailboyes, John, 280 ; Margaret, 280. 

Talbot,Elizabeth, 9, 334, 335 ; Philippa 
(Taylor), 335 ; Robert, 335 ; Silas, 
256, 257. 

Talleyrand, 253, 255. 

Taunton, 3, 317. 

Tavistock Street, 317. 

Taylor, 119, 171 ; Abigail (m. Amory), 
no; Joseph, 164, 173, 200, 204, 
205; Mrs., 161,222; Nathaniel, 
218; Philippa (m. Talbot), 336; 
Richard, 336; Samuel, 169; Wil- 
liam, 221, 229, 230 ; VVinslow, 
161. 

Tea, Glass and Paper Aft, 158, 159, 
162, 164. 

Temple, the (Paris), 260, 261. 

Temple Place, Boston, 259. 

Terceira, 47, 55, 57, 60, 69, 87,88, 93, 
102. 

Texel, the, 58. 

Thame, 288, 293-295, 298. 

Thatcher, " Citizen," 260. 

Tholthorp, 305. 

"Thomas," the, 204. 

Thomond, Earl of, 44, 343. 



Thompson als. Creagh, 105. 

Thornborough, 301-305, 309. 

Threadneedle Street, 168. 

Three Cocked Hats, the, 109. 

Thurloe, 16. 

Thynne, F., 273. 

Tilden, Captain, 253, 255. 

Tilloch, John, 169. 

Tilly, John, 337. 

Time, Walter de, 296. 

Timmins, 213, 214. 

Tober, 213. 

Tolzey, the, 16, 337, 338. 

Tory, 245. 

Tours, 288. 

Tower of London, 311. 

Towgood, Richard, 11, 16. 

Town House, Boston, 94, 119, 147. 

Townsend, Colonel, 96 ; and Giffin, 

185. 
Townshend (Charles), 170. 
Travers, Robert, 142. 
Tremont Street, 120, 259, 345. 
Trescot, Sarah, 273. 
Trinity Church, Boston, 91, 1 10, 259, 

344- 
Trinity College, Dublin, 27, 42. 

Tripoli, 256. 

Trott, Nicholas, 36, 38, 45, 74-78, 81, 

82-86. 
Tunstall, Sir Richard, 280. 
Turner, W. H., 284, 286, 288, 290, 

297> 310, 314, 340- 
Tutbury, 307. 
Tyson, Edward, 19. 

Ubley, 303, 305, 308. 
Union Club, 118. 
Utrecht, 59. 



372 The Descendants of Hugh A?nory. 



United States of America, 243, 244, 
252, 255, 256, 262, 267; United 
States Bank, Boston, 119. 

Vandaleur, Elizabeth, 104; John, 104. 

Vassal!, Leonard, 259. 

Vauxhall, 306. 

Verdon, Bertrand de, 306 ; RaufFe, 

308 ; Theobald, 306, 308. 
Virginia, 158, 227, 246. 

Wakefield, 108, 263 ; Letter, 1 18, 263, 

266, 275. 
Wales, 306, 308. 
Walker, 145. 
Wall, 334, 335. 
Wallace, Alexander, 185; Hugh, 185; 

William, 344. 
Wallingford, 291, 308 ; Honour of, 296. 
Walpole, Horace, 271. 
Wansor {query^ Windsor ? for Eton ?), 73. 
Ward, Joseph, 38. 
Warren, Love, 20. 
Warwick, 128. 
Washington (City), 262 ; General, 208, 

212, 227, 228, 261; Street, 95, 

109, 259. 
Waterloo, 261. 
Waters, Captain, 228. 
Watertown, 209. 
Watson, Brook, 133. 
Wayneman, 282. 
Weedon, William, 45. 
Wellington, Duke of, 258. 
Wells, 3, 4, 9, 336, 337, 346. 
Welsh Back, 15. 
Wendlebury, 294, 299. 
Were (Wjer or Wyer), Joshua, 95, 344; 

Nancy (m. Amory), 344. 



Werne, 31 1. 

Westcote, 270. 

Westhull, 293. 

West Indies, 28, 43, 79. 

Westminster, 45. 

Weston, 290, 293, 295, 299. 

West Street, 259. 

Wharfe, Nathaniel, 89 ; Rebecca (m. 

Holmes), 89, 91 ; Rebecca (iVIack- 

worth), 89. 
Whawell, James, 169. 
Wheeler, 155. 
Whig, 244. 
Whitaker, 343. 
Whitchurch, Somerset, 98. 
White, Andrew, 54, 56, 58 ; Benjamin, 

249; George, 21 ; John, 130. 
White Chapel, Bishop's Nymet, 271. 
Whitelock, Bread Street, 169. 
Whitmore (W. H.), 90. 
Whitton, John, 62. 
Whitworth, John, 177. 
Willard, 246. 
Willett, 334. 
William. See King. 
Willoughby, Robert de, 306. 
Williton, 315. 
Wilson, Captain, 144, 209 ; Harrison 

and, 169; James, 76; Robert and 

Thomas, 172, 179, 180, 185, 199. 
Windsor, 301. 
Winford, 291, 304. 
Wing, William, 290. 
Wishart, Captain, 188. 
Wits et Delmestre, 228. 
Wlwardeshull, 294. 
Woodperry, 305, 309, 3 jo. 
Woodside, Patrick, 1 1 1 . 
Woodward, 281. 



Index. 



373 



Woolmer, John, 199. 

Worcester, Bishop of, 338. 

Worcester, Mass., 199. 

Wright and Gill, 124, 127, 152, 156, 

185. 
Wrington, 1-9, 10, 25, 30, 312, 313, 

316,318, 334-336. 



Yamassee Indians, 75. 

Yatton, 334. 

Yong, Agnes, 3. 

Yonge, Miss C. M., 287 j Nichus, 3. 

York, 305 ; for New York, 102, 141, 

162, 163, 217. 
Yorktown, 227. 



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